The USB 3.0 Promoter Group announced at CES that they've developed a USB 3.0 enhancement that will enable throughput rates of up to 10Gbps (1.25GB/s), twice as much as current USB 3.0 solutions. The updated standard will be backwards-compatible with existing cables and connectors, but will require new controllers. The group says the USB 3.0 specification supplement is anticipated to be completed by the middle of the year.
The USB 3.0 Promoter Group today announced
development of a SuperSpeed USB (USB 3.0) enhancement that will add a much higher
data rate, delivering up to twice the data through-put performance of existing SuperSpeed
USB over enhanced, fully backward compatible USB connectors and cables. This supplement
to the USB 3.0 specification is anticipated to be completed by the middle of this year.
Key characteristics of the higher-rate SuperSpeed USB solution include:
New 10 Gbps USB data rate
Compatibility with existing cables and connectors
Improved data encoding for more efficient data transfer leading to higher through-put and improved I/O power efficiency
Compatible with existing USB 3.0 software stacks and device class protocols
Compatible with both existing 5 Gbps and new 10 Gbps USB 3.0 hubs and devices,
as well as USB 2.0 products
“With USB technology continuing to be the data and power delivery path of choice across
personal computing and consumer electronics, we are always looking ahead to how to best
improve user experience and connectivity performance,” said Brad Saunders, USB 3.0
Promoter Group Chairman. “Doubling SuperSpeed USB performance will be especially
beneficial for emerging USB docking and storage applications.”
Besides higher data transfer speeds, the updated USB 3.0 specification also promises to enable faster charging by supporting a higher current draw.
