A storm is coming in the form of a battle between Thunderbolt and USB 3. With non-Mac computers just starting to get access to Thunderbolt's 10Gbps transfer speeds, USB 3 has taken the upper hand in power delivery with a newly approved specification for both USB 2 and USB 3 that allows up to 100W of power draw.

At 100W, USB 2 and USB 3 can deliver 10 times more power than what Thunderbolt can. Furthermore, 100W is enough to satisfy most devices' requirements for charging, including several laptops. This means that almost any peripheral should be able to be charged via USB. It's almost time to say "bye" to proprietary connectors.

"USB Power Delivery enables a path to greatly reduce electronic waste by eliminating proprietary, platform-specific chargers," said Brad Saunders, USB 3.0 Promoter Group Chairman. "We envision a significant move toward universal charging based on this specification, most notably for charging notebook PCs using standardized USB power bricks or when connected to USB hubs and desktop displays that integrate USB Power Delivery capabilities."