The next great generation of USB (Universal Serial Bus) will be the USB 4, or USB4 version, and will offer numerous enhancements, such as Thunderbolt 3 support and streams of up to 40 Gbps.
At the moment, this 2019 the new (and several) versions of USB 3.x that reach up to 20 Gbps. data transfer. The latest, the USB 3.2 Gen 2 × 2 version presented this same 2019, as USB 4.
The USB 4 was presented in March 2019 with a glimpse of what the protocol will be and without announcing any date when it would be available.. However, rumors seem to point to in 2020 we would already see devices with USB 4 on USB-C connectors. Of course, by the end of 2020, so we have to wait yet more than a year to see them on the market.
Apple is one step ahead in this regard. The USB-C connectors on its new Mac models are Thunderbolt 3, so it supports up to 40 Gbps. data transmission with other compatible devices. Besides, andThe same USB-C connector on Macs is also USB 3.1 Gen 2 and supports up to 10 Gbps.
Current Mac connectors may be compatible with USB 4 as this version of USB will be based on Thunderbolt 3 and would use USB-C type connectors.
USB 4 and its technology may make the 2020 the year in which, finally, USB-C is extended as the preferred connector of new devices and not only Apple products (which are not only in Macs, but also in the new iPad Pro that use it as the only connector) and some individual devices from other brands, especially in high-end mobiles.
Apple and Intel have done a lot of work on Thundebolt and it seems that USB is destined to fall into the advantages offered by this technology over the current one. But, for now, we have to wait.