The new Thunderbolt 5 standard is coming. What's new?

Thunderbolt 5 will be integrated into new devices in 2024 and will offer up to 3x faster speeds compared to Thunderbolt 4, with data transfer rates of up to 120 gigabits per second (Gbps).

Thunderbolt 4 did not bring many significant improvements compared to Thunderbolt 3. It was created primarily to force computer manufacturers to adhere to stricter technical standards than they had with Thunderbolt 3. The new Thunderbolt 5 standard but it brings some extensive bandwidth improvements. Thunderbolt 5 will offer 80 Gbps of bilateral bandwidth, and with Bandwidth Boost it will provide up to the aforementioned 120 Gbps.

Thunderbolt 5 can provide 240W of charging power for Mac or Windows computers. Apple's 16-pin MacBook Pro currently supports 240W PD 3.1, but not through its Thunderbolt 4 port, which is rated for PD 3.0 and limited to 100W. Thunderbolt 5 could thus potentially increase charging power.

Thunderbolt 5 also supports DisplayPort 2.1, and the current Thunderbolt 4 standard supports HBR3 version 1.4. DisplayPort 2.1 supports a maximum resolution of 10K (10240 x 4320 at 60 Hz) on a single display. DisplayPort 1.4, meanwhile, supports 8K resolution. It also includes an improved version of Display Stream Compression (DSC 1.2a), which improves bandwidth management.

We can expect Thunderbolt 5 to be released in conjunction with a similar but not identical next version of USB4, currently known as USB4 V2. It will most likely be the #141 USB5 version. Intel says that the increase in speed with Thunderbolt 5 is necessary to meet the "growing needs of content creators and gamers", so it is not intended for users of office programs or browsers.

Such astonishing speeds will enable ultra-high-resolution screens, low-latency graphics for an immersive gaming experience, and backup or transfer of huge video and data files. Thunderbolt 5 should also support much higher refresh rates for 4K and 8K monitors.