USB 4 has been released and the latest tech ushers in some great improvements over its predecessor. The USB 4 was first announced earlier this year and is now set to replace USB 3.2. Highlights of USB 4 include better data transfer speeds, backward compatibility and much more.

How fast is USB 4?

To begin with, USB 4 offers a peak data transfer from 20Gbps to 40Gbps whilst retaining the dual-lane architecture. It is worth noting that individual lane-transfer supports a speed of up to 20Gbps. As expected you will need to buy USB 4 cables to take advantage of the better speeds. As far as backward compatibility is concerned USB 4 supports USB 2.0 and also offers an optional Thunderbolt 3 support.

Connecting External monitors with USB 4

USB 4 supports the transfer of multiple video and data streams. Furthermore, the USB 4 spec will automatically be able to adjust the amount of resource available while transferring video and data simultaneously. The above specs should help you while viewing/accessing high-resolution content via an external display. Meanwhile, the physical connector for USB 4 will remain the same as USB-C.

Charging and Power Delivery via USB 4

USB 4 offers support for 100W charging. This means you can charge your smartphones and other devices faster than before. The USB Power Delivery will choose the best charging rate for your device and ensure safe charging.

When can I buy a USB 4 cable?

The use of USB 3.2 is not widespread yet. And this means the USB 4 will take some time to become mainstream and affordable. However, the USB 4 spec cables are expected to arrive by 2020. In the initial days, pricing is expected to be on the higher side. However, with mass adoption USB 4 devices are likely to become affordable.