Thunderbolt 5 coming in 2024 – massive 80Gbps
Thunderbolt 5 is coming in 2024, offering a massive 80Gbps full-duplex data transfer rate. It is backwards compatible with Thunderbolt 3 and 4, USB-C 3 and 4.
It has four 40Gbps lanes – usually two up and two down. Additionally, it offers a Bandwidth Boost for up to 120Gbps video (three up and one down), allowing 8K monitors, dual 6K monitors and three 4K@144Hz monitors. This will require DP 2.1 and PAM-3 (Pulse Amplitude Modulation) compatible devices that can accept 120Gbps rates. It also enables passive cable lengths up to 1m.
Double the PCIe throughput means faster external SSDs and eGFX/GPU.
Thunderbolt 5 laptops and PCs
Intel is the innovator for Thunderbolt, and USB-C 3 (5/10Gbps) and 4 (20/40Gbps) are subsets of that. USB-C and PCIe are royalty-free, and PC makers pay a small royalty to include the Thunderbolt Barlow Ridge chip.
That means AMD and ARM (smartphones/tablets) could adopt this at a cost. Apple Mac computers and laptops support Thunderbolt 3, and with the iPhone 15 now using USB-C, it is feasible that future iPhones will support it too.
Thunderbolt 5 – why?
It provides far faster data transfer speeds that allow for higher refresh monitors, fast external backup, video rendering on external SSD, and 240W upstream charging.
It won’t mean a lot to the average user – Thunderbolt 3 is four to eight times faster than USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 and 1 that already support 2 x 4K@30fps monitors and accessories. But for those that need the speed, it’s a major leap forward.
Gamers, creators, videographers and pro users will benefit most.
