Intel Details Thunderbolt 4 With More Capabilities, USB4 Compatibility

Intel has today made public more details on their next-generation Thunderbolt connectivity that brings more features while offering USB4 specification compliance. Thunderbolt 4 is coming with forthcoming Tiger Lake laptops.

Thunderbolt 4 builds on top of Thunderbolt 3 to now deliver 40 Gbps speeds, compliance with USB4 while retaining DP and PCIe support, and backwards compatible with prior generations of Thunderbolt and USB devices. Thunderbolt 4 doubles the minimum video and data requirements of Thunderbolt 3, can drive dual 4K displays or a single 8K panel, support for docks with up to four Thunderbolt 4 ports, and mandates VT-d-based DMA protection.

Thunderbolt 4 controllers shipping later this year in the 8000 series include the JHL8540/JHL8340 for host controllers and JHL8440 for device controllers. Tiger Lake "Project Athena" laptops are expected to be the first devices to market with Thunderbolt 4 connectivity.

More details on Thunderbolt 4 at Intel.com.