With New 100-Watt Standard, Your USB Cable Could Soon Charge Your Laptop

Real power is finally coming to USB.

The USB 3.0 Promoter Group has approved a new standard for the ubiquitous port, which will deliver enough wattage to power and charge the average laptop computer.

While the current Universal Serial Bus 3.0 design can pump out 4.5 watts, the new USB Power Delivery specification far outperforms it, delivering a max of 100 watts of power over the same cables used today.

Brad Saunders, the chairman of the USB 3.0 Promoter Group, told VentureBeat that with the new standard, device manufacturers could one day all use the same, cross-compatible power cable — a major win for consumers.

“We envision that as a possibility, but it’s up to the manufacturers to see the benefits of it,” he said.

While USB originated as a data-transfer cable standard, it’s increasingly common to see it used to supply power to devices, thanks to its ability to deliver a few watts of power — more than enough to charge a phone, but far short of what’s needed for larger devices. That could change if manufacturers adopt the new standard.

Both the USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 Promoter Groups have approved the standard, the results of which could one day lead to a USB standard that’s as universal as its name implies.

As Saunders pointed out, cell phone manufacturers went through a similar process with the mass adoption of the microUSB standard. That move emerged as a result of pressure from a number of environmental and governmental bodies, and with the new USB standard, manufacturers of laptops, displays, and peripherals may undergo a similar shift.

But Saunders says he’s most jazzed about the new standard’s ability to send power in both directions, an ability that introduces a variety of new and exciting use models, including the ability to charge a laptop by plugging it into an external display.

While the new standard will be compatible with existing devices and cables, consumers looking to take advantage of the upgraded power capabilities will have to upgrade to the new cables, which will have a higher power rating.

Though the standard is already in its final development stages, Saunders doesn’t envision that consumers will see compatible devices until at least the middle of next year. For comparison, while USB 3.0 was formally approved in 2008, the first USB 3.0 consumer devices didn’t make an appearance until 2010. So don’t throw away your current charging cables just yet.

Via: VB

Prateek Panda

Prateek is the Founder of TheTechPanda. He's passionate about technology startups and entrepreneurship and enjoys speaking to new founders every day. Prateek has also been consistently regarded as one of the top marketing experts in the region.

Recent Posts

Outbound & inbound: India attracts businesses from UK, China & US while expanding to Middle East

The Tech Panda takes a look at how India has been attracting foreign businesses from…

14 hours ago

UPI value & volume surpass records in March

India’s digital payments ecosystem achieved a record high in March, with UPI transactions reaching INR24.77…

15 hours ago

AI-powered digital twins, Cobots, agentic AI, physical AI & edge computing are enabling an anticipatory AI-first manufacturing ecosystem

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) (BSE: 532540, NSE: TCS), ), a leader in IT services, consulting, and business…

16 hours ago

Misinformation & deepfakes help weaponize AI: Should AI be as open as the internet then?

The ability for AI to spread misinformation has been reaching hair-raising lengths, another and possibly…

3 days ago

What employees want: Not everyone feels ready to flow with AI at the workplace

Artificial Intelligence is everywhere now. It’s safe to say that organizations have either fully adopted…

6 days ago

Are business markets safe from Grok AI?

With the rise of advanced AI models such as Grok AI developed by Elon Musk's…

6 days ago