1. Thunderbolt ⇆ USB naming confusion
The discussion repeatedly points out that Thunderbolt is now built on the same protocol as USB4 v2, but the naming makes it hard to tell what’s mandatory.
“Thunderbolt 5 and USB4v2 are the same thing now. They both support 80 gbps and pcie pass through.” – Kirby64
“Thunderbolt is not a USB standard.” – aleph_minus_one
2. Misleading USB speed labels & marketing tactics
Many users criticize the way USB generations are marketed, turning optional features into new “versions” to sell older hardware.
“USB naming is misleading by design so that vendors could still sell older generations accessories they had in stock.” – maxloh
“I actually like the 3.2 naming… but sales people don’t seem to understand that saying a chip supports 3.1 or 3.2 tells me it’s anywhere from 5‑20 Gbps which isn’t ideal.” – Neywiny
3. Real‑world Thunderbolt 5 implementation details
The consensus is that a Thunderbolt 5 cable must carry PCIe, DisplayPort 2.1 and up to 240 W, regardless of the marketing hype.
“Thunderbolt 5 is basically just PCI Express, power delivery, and DisplayPort over the same cable, which for reasons passing understanding is terminated with a USB‑C connector.” – syhol > “A Thunderbolt 5 cable will always support 80 Gbps, DisplayPort 2.1, PCIe, USB4 and power of up to 240 watt.” – retired