In the continuous evolution of data transmission technology, USB 3.2 Gen 2x2, as an emerging and powerful multi-channel operation technology, is gradually coming to the fore. It is specifically designed for new hosts and devices. By allowing a maximum of two 10 Gbps channels to operate simultaneously, it achieves a theoretical data transmission rate of up to 20 Gbps. This remarkable performance improvement effectively meets the basic needs of the USB storage field for efficient data processing. With the help of this technology, users can transfer data between devices at a much faster speed, greatly enhancing both work and entertainment efficiency. What's more considerate is that it has the feature of backward compatibility. This means that new drives can seamlessly support existing USB specifications, effectively solving the problem of incompatibility with old technology functions that may arise due to technological iterations.
The USB-C connector plays a pivotal role in the USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 technology system. It has four pairs of metal pins, which are like the lanes on a highway and serve as the "channels" for data transmission and reception. Under the common USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5Gbps) and USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10Gbps) standards, only one TX channel (transmit) and one RX channel (receive) are used. However, USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 goes a step further by making full use of all four channels, successfully achieving a theoretical transmission rate of up to 20 Gbps, just like expanding the original two-lane road into a four-lane road, greatly increasing the "traffic capacity" of data.
Wide Application and Unique Advantages
Currently, more and more host devices are beginning to support the USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 technology. Among them, the XS2000 cleverly utilizes its USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 controller to perfectly adapt to these hosts, fully unleashing the high-speed advantages of this technology. It is worth noting that the USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 technology is only supported by the USB Type-C connector. Compared with the traditional USB Type-A, the USB Type-C connector demonstrates many outstanding improvements. It not only has the ability for multi-channel operation, providing a hardware foundation for high-speed data transmission, but also innovatively adopts a reversible design without the distinction of "up and down" directions, greatly enhancing the convenience for users when plugging and unplugging devices, and completely eliminating the embarrassment of damaging the interface or device due to incorrect insertion.
Comparison with Thunderbolt and USB4
In the field of high-speed interfaces, Thunderbolt and USB4 are also highly noticeable. They belong to different types of interfaces and have unique protocol functions for operating in alternative modes or DisplayPort Alt mode. Taking the DisplayPort Alt mode as an example, it endows the USB-C cable and connector with even more powerful functions, enabling them not only to efficiently transmit data but also to handle the transmission of video and/or audio simultaneously, greatly expanding the application scenarios of the interface. Although Thunderbolt/USB4 is rated at a speed of 30/40 Gbps, in practical applications, its maximum speed usually only reaches the speed of USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps). Therefore, when using related devices, it is essential to carefully check the specifications of the host device to accurately confirm its USB transmission rate function, so as to avoid situations where performance expectations do not match the actual situation due to misunderstandings.
