Thunderbolt 3 becomes USB4, royalty-free

Is anybody else here still really confused by USB-IF&#x27;s decisions recently? From what I can tell:<p>Formerly-USB_3.0 was &quot;USB_3.1 Gen1&quot; is now <i>USB 3.1</i><p>Formerly-USB_3.1 was &quot;USB_3.1 Gen2&quot; is now <i>USB 3.2 Gen2</i><p>The new thing, which is essentially a double-width now-<i>USB-3.2 Gen2</i> bus, is <i>USB Gen2x2</i>&quot;<p>Mix this with a new connector, and we now have:<p>USB-type-C, <i>but it&#x27;s actually USB-2.0 in a Type-C connector</i><p>USB-type-C Thunderbolt, which is USB-type-C plus Thunderbolt, which can then carry DisplayPort.<p>USB-type-C:<p>and probably a million different implementations of power over USB-type-C.<p>Dear Intel, please keep the Thunderbolt name and numbering scheme!<p>Thunderbolt (1) (Mini-DisplayPort connector)<p>Thunderbolt 2 (Mini-DisplayPort connector)<p>Thunderbolt 3 (uses USB-Type C)<p>Theirs is <i>so</i> much better.<p><i>Edited more than once for formatting.</i>

I&#x27;ve been using Thunderbolt 3 for years now (through Dell&#x27;s TB16 dock station and XPS 9350) and have mixed feelings about it. It&#x27;s definitely cool to connect only one wire and have everything plugged in but it leaves much to be desired in practice.<p>For example, currently the dock frequently disconnects and reconnects itself on OS start. I&#x27;ve reproduced it on Windows and on Linux. Another thing is that the connector is kind of brittle. I get it that now everything goes through it but sometimes touching it by accident (e.g. when putting a glass of water) disconnects everything once in a while. Sometimes the USB 3.0 part of the dock doesn&#x27;t start. Requires powering the entire dock off and on again. Again, reproduced in Windows and Linux and over several iterations of the hardware (both the dock and my laptop). This is just a couple of issues I&#x27;ve got now, it was worse before.<p>What started as a nice idea doesn&#x27;t work for me in practice and I&#x27;ll be sure that my next computer will be just a regular PC keeping the setup boring and simple.<p>I&#x27;m wonder what are your experiences with Thunderbolt 3 in daily usage? (if possible please mention your setup).

I found the title a bit misleading. It suggests that USB4 might get a synonym for Thunderbolt 3. But it seems more like the technology will get incorporated to a certain extend into USB4.<p>As long as it hasn&#x27;t been exactly specified what gets included, it is probably too soon to assume that USB4 will always be compatible with Thunderbolt3.

HA! They followed my naming convention !! ( <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=19258939" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=19258939</a> )<p>Ok, that&#x27;s probably just a coincidence...but still. :)

Marco Arment is going to have a fit on this week&#x27;s ATP.

If only they could mandate the use of USB-C Connector with a certain level of quality assurance. Otherwise we might get another renaming.<p>USB 3.0 -&gt; USB 3.1 Gen 1 -&gt; USB 3.2 Gen 1 -&gt; USB 4.0 Gen 1<p>And we might end up with USB Type A Cable that only support USB 4.0 Gen 1.

So... USB4 will be hideously insecure by default?