Intel announces the next generation of Thunderbolt

Thunderbolt delivers 80 Gbps bi directional bandwidth which can be enhanced further to 120 Gbps

Intel has revealed the Thunderbolt 5 Connectivity Standard that aims to deliver significant improvements in connectivity speed for computer users.

The new generation of Thunderbolt delivers 80 Gbps bi-directional bandwidth. It can be enhanced further with the Bandwith Boost feature, which pushes the speed to 120 Gbps.

As compared to the previous version, Thunderbolt 5 has twice the total bandwidth, which means it can handle more data in both directions, and it offers a Bandwidth Boost feature that can make video-intensive tasks up to three times faster, reaching speeds of up to 120 Gbps.

The PCI Express data throughput has doubled, making storage and external graphics operations faster. Thunderbolt 5 is built on industry standards like USB4 V2, DisplayPort 2.1, and PCI Express Gen 4. It's fully compatible with previous Thunderbolt versions.

Read More AI quietly reshapes Apple iPhones, Watches

The Thunderbolt Networking bandwidth has also doubled, enabling high-speed connections between PCs. It uses a new signaling technology called PAM-3 to achieve these performance improvements, and it works well with current printed circuit boards, connectors, and passive cables up to 1 meter in length.