From 2024, all mobile devices in the European Union will have to use USB-C as the standard charging port, courtesy of a new law that was passed by the European Parliament. This means that mobile phones, tablets, digital cameras, headphones and headsets, handheld videogame consoles and portable speakers, e-readers, keyboards, mice, portable navigation systems and earbuds, all have to sport a USB-C port for charging in the near future. Many of these devices already do, with the main exception being Apple, although many lower-end devices still rely on micro USB, due to the lower cost. The European Parliament voted 602 in favour of the new law, with only 13 parliamentarians being against and eight that abstained, which shows that most EU nations were in favour of the move.

From 2026, laptops which adhere to the USB PD 3.0 standard, i.e. up to 100 Watts, will be required to charge via USB-C as well. As such, it seems like the EU didn't enforce support for USB PD 3.1, which goes up to 240 Watts. The EU is also planning on enforcing a common wireless charging standard, which is expected to come into effect by the end of 2024. It's not clear which standard will be chosen, but it's highly likely to be the Qi standard, as it's the most commonly used wireless charging standard.

The USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) has announced a few changes to the various logos that are tied to the USB standard. This is said to be done to simplify the plethora of logos that are currently being used and to make it easier for consumers to know what they're buying. At the same time, the old SuperSpeed USB logo is being retired and the branding will not appear on new products at all. Instead, the logos that were developed for the USB4 standard and USB PD 3.1, will be adapted across the board. The new changes will come into effect this quarter and could appear on new products before the end of the year.

The new logos that will replace the SuperSpeed logo are pretty straightforward, with a 5 and 10 Gbps logo being added to the 20 and 40 Gbps logos that we've already seen. These logos will be used for packaging, on cable connectors and even on some devices. The new 5 and 10 Gbps logos can also be combined with the 60 W and 240 W charging logos when used with USB-C cables. All of this should make it easier as a consumer to know what kind of cable you're buying, but keep in mind that these logos only apply to certified products and not all USB cables are certified. Still, it's an improvement overall and should make life easier when shopping for cables, assuming the new logos are being used properly.

The USB Promoter Group today announced the pending release of the USB4 Version 2.0 specification, a major update to enable up to 80 Gbps of data performance over the USB Type-C cable and connector. The USB Type-C and USB Power Delivery (USB PD) specifications will also be updated to enable this higher level of data performance. All of these specification updates are expected to be published in advance of this year's series of USB DevDays developer events planned for November.

Protocol updates are also being made to enable higher performance USB 3.2, DisplayPort and PCI Express (PCIe) data tunneling to best use the higher available bandwidth. "Once again following USB tradition, this updated USB4 specification doubles data performance to deliver higher levels of functionality to the USB Type-C ecosystem," said Brad Saunders, USB Promoter Group Chairman. "Solutions seeing the most benefit from this speed enhancement include higher-performance displays, storage, and USB-based hubs and docks."

LG's Intel based gram-series of notebooks have proven quite popular in the Ultrabook segment. However, its Ultra PC models are built around AMD hardware and although there have been a 13.3-inch model in the past, the company has announced its new 14- and 16-inch models. Both models are based around either a Ryzen 5 5625U or a Ryzen 7 5825U processor, which is built on AMD's Barcelo chips. This sadly means that features like USB4, DDR5/LPDDR5 and PCIe 4.0 support are out the window. This is because Barcelo is a refresh of Cezanne, which means both CPU families based on the Zen 3 architecture. On the plus side, this means the pricing will be quite competitive, but more on that in a second.

The 14-inch model measures 313.9 x 220.45 x 16.3 mm and weighs in at 1.29 kg, whereas the 16-inch model is slightly larger—for obvious reasons—and measures 356.3 x 248.6 x 16.3 mm, but remains fairly portable at 1.6 kg. The display on both the 14- and 16-inch models features 1920x1200 resolution, with the 14-inch model having a brighter display at 300 vs 250 nits for the 16-inch model. Neither display is what you'd call impressive though. Other features include up to 16 GB of dual-channel LPDDR4X memory, up to 1 TB of storage, HDMI out, a USB-C port with DP Alt mode and USB PD support, two USB-A ports, a microSD card slot, an audio jack and a power connector for the charger. WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1, as well as a fingerprint reader are also part of the package. Battery life is said to be up 21 and 20 hours respectively when it comes to video playback, with the 14-inch model managing 16.5 hours in MobileMark 2018, whereas the 16-inch model only manages 15 hours flat. LG will offer a range of SKUs that start at €1,199 for the 14-inchers and €1,399 for the 16-inchers, all of which should be available at some point this month.

Video game accessories company iVoler today announced a Pro version of its Steam Deck docking station. Compatible with Valve Steam Deck handheld gaming device, the dock provides an immediate solution for users who have been shut out by Valve indefinitely delaying their own proprietary docking station due to production issues. This Steam Deck dock pro will be available on September 5 in 7 Amazon marketplaces; US, CA, UK, DE, FR, IT, and ES with prime shipping service. iVoler also provides a 15% discount for social media pre-order.

iVoler Steam Deck Dock Pro is a 6-in-1 docking station that is specifically designed to work with Valve's handheld device. It also features three USB 3.0 ports with up to 5 Gbps data transmission, and one angled USB-C cable fitting angled connection for the Steam Deck device. Priced at $49.99, iVoler's dock is also a budget-friendly 6-in-1 docking station option that combines a USB hub and kickstand together.

Earlier this week, some details, including the PCB layout of the MSI MEG X670E Godlike leaked, but now MSI has shared some additional details, including a picture of the board. In fact, MSI shared most of thespecs of the Godlike board during Computex, but the company didn't release a picture back then. However, now we know the power design, which consists of 24+2 phases and a 105 A power stage. MSI has also created its own screwless M.2 slots, as well as heatsinks, which simply clip in place after the SSD has been installed, although it doesn't appear the Godlike board has screwless heatsinks for more than one of M.2 drives.

Other features include 10 and 2.5 Gbps Ethernet, as well as AMD's RZ616 WiFi 6E module. MSI hasn't gone for USB4 from what we know and nothing was mentioned with regards to USB4 during the MSI presentation. MSI also seems to have skipped video outputs on this board, but it's possible that one of the USB-C ports will support display output, even though that wasn't the case back at Computex. As with many other X670E boards, the Godlike supports 60 W USB PD charging via the front USB-C port.

During AMD's Meet the Experts event, ASUS revealed more details about its ROG Crosshair X670E Extreme, a board the company revealed during Computex, but didn't show the rear I/O of. However, ASUS also unveiled the ROG Crosshair X670E Hero, a board the company hadn't shown off prior to the AMD event. Both boards will feature a pair of USB4 ports, with both ports supporting DisplayPort Alt Mode. Both boards feature a further two USB-C ports, plus seven plus USB-A ports. The Extreme features 10 Gbps and 2.5 Gbps Ethernet, whereas the Hero gets to make do with 2.5 Gbps Ethernet, although it gains an HDMI output. Both boards have a full set of audio jacks and WiFi 6E support, as well as a rear mounted clear CMOS and BIOS FlashBack button.

Taking a closer look at the Hero board, it has two PCIe x16 PCIe slots, plus a single, open-ended PCIe x1 slot. The board supports four M.2 NVMe slots for SSDs and comes with a PCIe 5.0 card for a fifth drive. It also has what appears to be six SATA ports, a front header for a 20 Gbps USB 3.2 2x2 USB-C port that also supports up to 60 W USB PD and Qualcomm Quick Charge 4+. The Hero board will be kitted out with an 18 phase power design, with the Extreme getting a 22 phase design, both with a 110 Ampere power stage. ASUS has moved its audio solution to the ALC4082 USB based audio codec and at least the Extreme will have an ESS ES9218 audio codec. ASUS is also bringing over the Q-Release solution for graphics cards to these boards, as well as the Q-Latch for M.2 SSDs.

Anker, the world's #1 mobile charging brand, today unveiled its new generation of Gallium Nitride (GaN) technology, GaNPrime. Combining the latest in GaN technology with Anker's own proprietary features, GaNPrime allows for a safer, faster and more sustainable charging experience. "GaNPrime represents a new era in charging," said Steven Yang, CEO of Anker Innovations. "In addition to delivering a faster and safer charging experience, our new GaNPrime chargers offer significant savings in energy consumption, reinforcing Anker's commitment to a more sustainable future."

The benefits of GaNPrime don't end with device charging. Perhaps the most exciting benefit of GaNPrime is its increased power efficiency. With each charge, consumers save on average more than 7% in energy consumption compared to legacy silicon chargers. To put it in context, if everyone in the United States used the 150 W GaNPrime charger for a year, we could save up to 796 million kilowatt-hours. That would be enough energy to power the entire state of Hawaii for one month.