Thunderbolt 5: First public demo shown

On September 14, 2022By Garmin Philip

According to USB4 2.0

After the announcement of the new USB4 2.0 interface, Intel is following suit and is presenting a demonstration for Thunderbolt 5 for the first time, which is intended to stand up to the new USB port.

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Intel: Thunderbolt 5 should be able to reach the same speeds as USB4 2.0.

A few days after the announcement of USB 4 Version 2.0, Intel is also working on the further development of its Thunderbolt connection. As part of the Intel Technology Tour 2022 in Israel, a first video excerpt was shown on Twitter, demonstrating a Thunderbolt system with a data rate of 80 Gbit/s.

This would double the speed of the predecessor Thunderbolt 4 and that standard is equal to the specifications for USB4 2.0. In the video shown, the data rate is achieved with channels of 40 Gbit/s each. As with the previous Thunderbolt generations, the USB-C connector will also be used here, so that no serious changes are to be expected for the end customer, just like with USB4 2.0.

Thunderbolt 5 was not mentioned by name in the course of the demonstration, but Intel made the naming of its interface much more straightforward than is the case with the sometimes confusing USB standard. Accordingly, it can be assumed that the new connection will actually come onto the market as Thunderbolt 5. However, it is not yet clear when a release of the new standard can be expected.

On the other hand, the strict standards that Intel has already applied to Thunderbolt 4 are considered likely. Devices with Thunderbolt 4 can only be classified as such if the actual maximum of 40 Gbit/s is achieved – the first version of USB 4 allows labeling from 20 Gbit/s. So if Thunderbolt 5 makes it to the consumer market, it’s likely that products promoting it will actually be able to achieve the 80 Gbps throughput.