Microsoft has incorporated USB4 2.0 support into Windows 11. The company thus expects the arrival of the first devices with the most advanced version of the port for connecting peripherals.

Another important part of operating system updates is support for the latest technological standards. And another Windows with tens of millions of computers that it moves. If in previous weeks we talked about compatibility with Wi-Fi 7 (still in test channels), today we have another important connectivity standard supported. It was implemented in build 22621 and will be available this week as part of automatic updates.

USB4 2.0 on Windows 11

USB4 was approved more than two years ago by the responsible body USB-IF, although it is not until 2024 that its general deployment begins. Subsequently, the industrial group second generation approved which is what Windows 11 will now natively support.

The common standard already excelled in performance by doubling the base bandwidth up to 40 Gb/s also by being the first to converged with Intel Thunderbolt, once he opened up the specs and shared them with the USB Promoter Group so manufacturers could use them without paying licensing fees. Other important sections have also been improved, such as charging external devices with USB PD support.

USB4 2.0 goes one step further, in this case in performance, as it doubles data transfer performance again up to 80 Gbps equal to the fastest yet, Intel Thunderbolt 4.

The USB4 V2 specifications have been updated to support USB Type-C (the latest connector in the standard) and the aforementioned USB Power Delivery (USB PD), a fast charging protocol that allows the use of USB-C cables and connectors for charging devices. with a power of up to 100 watts. It has also been updated to match the latest versions of the DisplayPort and PCIe specifications.

The new standard will be backwards compatible with the initial version of USB4 as well as previous versions such as USB 3.2 and USB 2.0. Taking into account the relevance of such an expanded port, it is important that Microsoft added native support for this USB4 2.0 in Windows 11. The first devices are expected this year.