USB4 is coming soon and will (mostly) unify USB and Thunderbolt

This Tuesday, the USB Implementers Forum published the official USB4 protocol specification. If your initial reaction was "oh no, not again," don't worry—the new spec is backward-compatible with USB 2 and USB 3, and it uses the same USB Type-C connectors that modern USB 3 devices do.

Although you'll still be able to connect old-school devices with USB Type-A or USB Type-B connectors to new USB4 laptops and hubs, you'll need to do so with dongles. The older, non-reversible connectors aren't able to support USB Power Delivery, an intelligent charging protocol that allows negotiation of faster (or slower, but less battery-draining) charge rates.

This shift to USB Type-C is one we should all be embracing. Even if you don't care about the power and data-delivery features, USB Type-C adapters are much easier to plug in. My family destroys so many Micro-USB B charging cables I've seriously considered setting up a monthly recurring delivery on Amazon—but my eight-year-old son hasn't damaged a single Type-C cable in the eight months that we've had them. The difference is enormous.