What Is USB 4.0?

USB 3, USB 4, Thunderbolt, & USB-C — everything you need to know ?

USB 4.0 is described as the next generation of USB. Announced in 2019, it promises to provide significantly faster transfer speeds, better port usage, and the ability to provide tunneling of display ports and PCIe to external devices.

USB 4.0 utilizes a single standard connector (USB-C) and brings multiple connectivity standards together. USB 4.0 also ensures backward compatibility with almost all previous standard inputs, including USB 3.0 and USB 2.0.
 
USB4 is a USB system specified in the USB4 specification which was released in version 1.0 on 29 August 2019 by USB Implementers Forum 

In contrast to prior USB protocol standards, USB4 requires USB-C connectors, and for power delivery, it requires support of USB PD. In contrast to USB 3.2, it allows tunneling of DisplayPort and PCI Express. The architecture defines a method to share a single high-speed link with multiple end device types dynamically that best serves the transfer of data by type and application. USB4 products must support 20 Gbit/s throughput and can support 40 Gbit/s throughput, but due to tunneling even nominal 20 Gbit/s can result[citation needed] in higher effective data rates in USB4, compared to USB 3.2, when sending mixed data.

The USB4 specification is based on the Thunderbolt 3 protocol specification.[2] Support of interoperability with Thunderbolt 3 products is optional for USB4 hosts and USB4 peripheral devices, and is required for USB4 hubs on their downward facing ports and for USB4-based docks on their downward and upward facing ports.