At the development center in Haifa, Israel, Intel demonstrated a video with a test system running the updated Thunderbolt interface at 80 Gbps.
Thunderbolt 4 currently uses the core USB4 version 1.0 specification support a maximum of 40 Gbps bandwidth, and the new version of the interface shown in Israel is based on the recently announced USB4 Version 2.0 specification.
A screenshot of the demo’s protocol analysis published by Intel shows a dual-link USB4 connection, each capable of transmitting 40 Gbps symmetrically (2×2). The transfer takes place via a USB-C cable. The new interface will be twice as fast as the existing Thunderbolt 4 connection.
Although, Intel has not yet officially named the interface. Whether this is the USB4 version 2.0 announced just a few weeks ago or an upcoming Thunderbolt standard based on it cannot be said at the moment. When the company’s processors will receive support for the new interface is still unknown.
