Here’s all you need to know about Intel’s Thunderbolt 4

Intel on Wednesday detailed its next-generation universal cable connectivity solution, the Thunderbolt 4.

Intel’s “one port to rule them all” builds on its predecessors and will deliver increased speeds with minimum performance requirements, expanded capabilities and USB4 specification compliance, the US chipmaker said.

The Thunderbolt 4 will be integrated with Intel’s upcoming mobile PC processors, dubbed “Tiger Lake.”

Thunderbolt 4 will deliver speeds up to 40 Gbps with data, video and power over a single connection. The interface complies with most industry-standard specifications including USB4, DisplayPort and PCI Express (PCIe). The Thunderbolt 4 is also fully compatible with products based on prior versions of the interface.

It can deliver two 4K displays or one 8K display. It has support for PCIe at 32 Gbps for storage speeds up to 3,000 MBps.

The solution will function with double the minimum video and data requirements of its predecessor, Thunderbolt 3.

Intel, with the Thunderbolt 4, has further increased requirements for device manufacturers in order to integrate the solution with their products. Devices will require Intel VT-d-based direct memory access (DMA) protection for integrating Thunderbolt 4. This is part of Intel’s detailed security brief to prevent physical DMA attacks.

Intel’s Thunderbolt solution debuted in 2009 has been adopted by premium laptops including Apple’s MacBook Pros, Dell’s XPS series and HP’s Spectre x360.

Intel will deliver its Thunderbolt 4 controller 8000 series later this year.

“The first computers and accessories with Thunderbolt 4 ports are also expected to be available this year, including laptops based on Intel’s innovation program code-named “Project Athena”,” Intel said.