#thunderbolt 3

The USB Promoter Group has announced the pending release of the USB4 specification that builds on the existing USB 3.2 and USB 2.0 architectures and is based on Intel's Thunderbolt protocol. It also supports multiple data and display protocols to efficiently share the total available bandwidth over the bus, USB Power Delivery, and backward compatibility with USB 3.2, USB 2.0 and Thunderbolt 3. Intel recently contributed the Intel Thunderbolt protocol specification to the USB Promoter Group to enable other chip makers to build Thunderbolt compatible silicon, royalty-free. “Releasing the Thunderbolt protocol specification is a significant milestone for making today’s simplest and most versatile port available to everyone,” said Jason Ziller, General Manager, Client Connectivity Division at Intel. Thunderbolt has been around for a while now, but despite of the performance gains that it’s touted to bring to the table, it has yet to even scratch the surface of USB’s popularity in the mainstream segment. Intel is looking to change that though, and fast, with the announcement of Thunderbolt 3 which will feature a USB Type-C connector. Thunderbolt 3 is what Intel envisioned all along: a multi-purpose hardware interface that delivers cutting-edge performance and versatility with cross-platform compatibility of USB standards. Unfortunately, the early versions of Thunderbolt didn’t play nicely with the USB standards at the time which resulted to the use of mini-DisplayPort interface instead. Read more in our articles including "Quick Guide to Knowing What USB Type-C You Need" and "USB4 specification announced".