Thunderbolt 4 Ports: Features, Benefits, and What’s New

Intel continues with a firm step in its mission to bring USB-C to all corners of the world through its Thunderbolt communication standard, so, with the idea of continuing to capture the attention and interest of users, it has just presented the new generation with a lot of improvements and new features. This is how Thunderbolt 4 works.

Same port, different performance

Thunderbolt 4 Ports: Features, Benefits, and What's New

The different versions that Intel has been presenting of Thunderbolt have shown us that the USB-C port is one of the best inventions of recent years. Thanks to the reversible port , it is possible to enjoy communications with spectacular bandwidth, however, the best was yet to come, since with the new Thunderbolt 4 version the manufacturer has managed to improve the records to incredible levels.

To give you an idea, we can now transmit data at a speed of 40 Gbps with two-meter cables or connect 2 4K screens (or one 8K), in turn giving rise to a new modality of accessories in the form of a dock that will include Finally four Thunderbolt ports for the first time. The examples that Intel has shown as reference designs show a compact dock with four ports and a USB port, and a more complete one with ethernet, SD card reader and four USB ports.

What’s New in Thunderbolt 4

Thunderbolt 4 diferencias

  • Cables up to 2 meters in length.
  • 4 Thunderbolt ports through dock.
  • Possibility of controlling two 4K screens or one 8K.
  • DMA protection through Intel VT-d

Safer

Thanks to Intel Virtualization Technology for VT-d, computers with Thunderbolt 4 will be protected against any threat through the ports, so that no device with malicious intent will be able to access the computer’s memory. Thanks to this, the new standard will reduce physical attacks made on computers locally, thereby increasing security beyond encryption of the hard disk and protection of the BIOS.

When will we see it in stores?

In order for us to see the new Thunderbolt 4 in some equipment on the market, we will have to wait for manufacturers to have in their hands the new JHL8540, JHL8440 and JHL8340 controllers, something that will not happen until the end of the year, so we will still have to wait a bit until you can see the new version of the port working.

Manufacturers such as Lenovo are very interested in mounting Thunderbolt 4 on their computers as soon as possible, and how could it be otherwise, future laptops belonging to the Athena Project will also have this new version to increase their portability and expansion options more easily. .