With its 80 Gb/s transfer rate and a 120 Gb/s boost mode for high-performance displays, USB4 version 2 represents a major breakthrough in terms of connectivity. Unfortunately, for now, there are only two USB4 v2 controllers for PCs on the market: one from Apple, another from Intel (the JHL9580), so there is almost no way to add USB4 v2 to AMD platforms. Good news: this is going to change, as both ASMedia and Via Labs have revealed to Tom's Hardware that they are working on controllers set to launch in the next two years.
At Computex, we met with representatives from ASMedia and Via Labs, two well-known makers of external controllers for various connectivity standards. In fact, ASMedia develops chipsets for AMD. Both companies are working on USB 4 v2 controllers, yet ASMedia plans to release its chip towards the end of 2026, while Via Labs intends to launch its USB 4 v2 solution sometime in 2027. For now, it is not clear whether ASMedia and Via Labs are also developing USB4 v2 PHY in-house or plan to use an off-the-shelf offering from, say, Synopsys.
