USB 3.0 promoters group has unveiled the new USB 3.2 standard. The new specification supports multi-lane operations, that allows 2 lanes of 10 Gbps transfer. In simple words, it will almost double the data speed when compared to the existing Type-C cables.
The USB 3.0 Promoters Group Consists of Apple, HP, Intel, Microsoft, Renesas Electronics, ST Microelectronics and Texas Instruments. The group introduced the successor of the USB 3.1 cable, which is making USB connections more uniform than ever.
Technical Enhancements in USB 3.2
Coming to the technical aspects, the USB 3.2 will use the same encoding techniques that are presently used. It will enable Two-Lane operations, based on the existing Type-C cables.
The Two-Lane Operations enables USB 3.2 to support two lanes of 5 Gbps transfer or 2 lanes of 10 Gbps transfer. The USB hub on the device will also be tweaked to optimize the use of USB 3.2. Thanks to this tweaking, you will be able to experience a speed boost of up to 2 Gbps on the older USB 3.0 cables.
The USB 3.0 Promoters Group stated about USB 3.2
“For example, a USB 3.2 host connected to a USB 3.2 storage device will now be capable of realizing over 2 GB/sec data transfer performance over an existing USB Type-C cable that is certified for SuperSpeed USB 10 Gbps,”
Seeing the shiny tweaks and enhancements, you will need to upgrade to USB 3.2 supporting devices in order to enjoy the speed optimization. Although it can use the existing Type-C cables, the speed is not too evident on them.
The USB 3.2 has been announced but the full list of enhancements will come out later. We may see the full specs of USB 3.2 release on USB Developers Days held in North America, later in September this year.
So keeping that in mind, we can safely say that the USB 3.2 will show up in the devices, initially in mid-2018. We can say so because USB Type-C was introduced in 2013, but it took more than a couple of months to make it widely available.
