The Thunderbolt 4 specs have finally been revealed, and Intel broke the news from the lab this morning, explaining when the new connection type will make its way to laptops (albeit indirectly) and what makes it so appealing. [Here is Intel's specs table, along with details on why Thunderbolt 4 might be coming to Surface tablets and laptops, something that Thunderbolt 3 failed to achieve.

We don't know exactly when Thunderbolt 4 ports will appear on laptops, but we do know what to look for: Intel's plan is for Thunderbolt 4 controllers to be released in 2020, with Thunderbolt 4 The first laptops will be those running on Tiger Lake CPUs.

Based on this information, it is expected that Thunderbolt 4 will not be available in most laptops until 2021.

Do not assume that Thunderbolt 4 will break the speed limit of Thunderbolt 3. While the data transfer rate limit will remain at 40 GBps (PCIe will introduce a new minimum data rate requirement of 32 GBps), Thunderbolt 4 is interesting because it can do so much more.

The biggest new feature of Thunderbolt 4 is the ability to connect to dual 4K monitors or a single 8K monitor, doubling the single 4K monitor limit of Thunderbolt 3.

Thunderbolt 4 also standardizes the way you get those speeds with a new 2 meter universal cable that makes it easier to get the performance you need. There will also be a Thunderbolt 4 accessory with four Thunderbolt ports.

Thunderbolt 4 will also require a thin, lightweight PC (requiring less than 100W to charge) that can be charged from one of the Thunderbolt 4 ports; a Thunderbolt 4 PC will come out of sleep mode when connected to a Thunderbolt dock.

Have you ever wondered why Microsoft's Surface tablets, 2-in-1s, and laptops do not have Thunderbolt 3? Microsoft claims that the Thunderbolt 3 direct memory access port has been compromised, leaving users open to attack.

Intel's solution to this is a very long-term one called Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d), which, simply put, blocks direct memory access attacks. Intel makes this mandatory for all Thunderbolt 4 and calls it Intel VT-d based DMA protection.