Usb4 is getting faster, but is your Mac ready?
It can sometimes be a bit confusing which port supports which standard, because they almost all use the same connector these days: usb-c. Both Thunderbolt and USB4 work via the USB-C port, as do previous versions of the USB standard. All Macs with M1 and M2 chip have USB4 support. This concerns version 1.0 from August 2019 while we now make the jump to the successor version 2.0.
Thunderbolt often gets the most attention, but USB cannot be ruled out either, especially now that such a large speed gain can be made. Usb4 version 2.0 doubles the top speed of wired connections from 40 Gbps to 80 Gbps. That is a nice boost for usb4, the usb standard that is managed by the USB Implementers Forum. Thunderbolt 4 is stuck at a maximum of 40 Gbps.
Cables are already suitable, Macs are not
The speed of version 2.0 “comes to existing 40Gbps USB Type-C passive cables and new 80Gbps USB Type-C active cables,” according to the USB Promoter Group. The current fast cables are therefore already suitable for version 2.0, but the USB4 ports in the Mac are not yet. Unfortunately, your Mac cannot get a speed boost with a simple software update.
Such fast cables are expensive, however. Apple sells the cable below that supports 40 Gbps USB4 connections for 150 euros. There is also a longer version of 3 meters, which is slightly more expensive.
According to the USB Promoter Group, you'll get the most benefit from the speed doubling if you're using a high-performance display, storage, or a USB-based hub or dock.
See also 
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The usb4 2.0 standard will therefore be backward compatible with version 1.0 and also with usb 3.2, usb 2.0 and Thunderbolt 3. The specifications of the new standard have not yet been published. This is expected in the next two months. Shortly afterwards you can expect the first products that already support the 80 Gbps data connection as standard.