VESA's update to DisplayPort 2.1a will allow longer passive cables to be used to connect displays, but Mac users won't benefit from this change just yet. This standard update announced by the Video Electronics Standards Association at the 2024 U.S. Consumer Electronics Show (CES2024) mainly affects the cable length that DisplayPort can officially use. As the specifications change, it's possible for users to use cables up to two meters (6.5 feet) long in their computing setups.

This change applies to the DP40UHBR cable specification, which is superseded by the new DP54UHBR version. The new version supports up to four-wire UHBR13.5 link rates, enabling a maximum throughput of 54Gbps over two meters of passive cable.

With the addition of this feature, DisplayPort2.1a effectively doubles the passive cable length for the UHBR13.5 GPU to display connection (i.e. from DisplayPort to the display). Prior to this, UHBR13.5 could only use DP80UHBR cable with a maximum length of 1 meter.

For end users, this ultimately means they can mount the monitor further away from the video source, or at least have longer cable lengths so they can route the cables properly and get a clearer workspace.

Displays connected via UHBR13.5 offer 8K2K up to 240Hz or 8K4K resolution and refresh rate combinations up to 120Hz (using four channels).

Although VESA is moving beyond the DP40 cable specification, it says that existing DP40 cables shipped to date will comply with the DP54 specification. Devices supporting UHBR20 link rates will continue to be supported by DP80UHBR cables.

James Choate, VESA compliance program manager, said: "With the latest update to DisplayPort, the UHBR13.5 cable specification is now specifically designed to provide longer passive cables for UHBR10 and UHBR13.5 displays and graphics cards. Consumer "Operators are no longer limited to using one-meter DP80 cables to connect UHBR13.5 source and sink devices because DP80 cables provide bandwidth support beyond their hardware needs and, in some cases, may be too short for their setups (such as ultra-wide curved monitors)."

For Mac users, the new standard won't have much impact on current-generation models. Thunderbolt5 provides 80Gbps bandwidth and supports DisplayPort2.1. It is likely to support DisplayPort2.1a. Macs released in the future should be able to take advantage of this.

VESA's CES announcement also includes a new in-car extended specification protocol. The specification introduces a standardized method to verify that data transmitted by the GPU is received by the on-board display in the same manner to eliminate noise injection or errors.