Plus, Thunderbolt 3 is backwards compatible. There is support for DisplayPort 1.2, HDMI 2.0, and 10GbE fast networking, too.
It also offers USB speeds of up to 10Gbps, and it can connect up to two 4K displays, outputting video and audio signals at the same time. Thunderbolt 3 allows for connection speeds up to 40Gbps - so double the speed of the previous generation - USB 3.1 10Gbps, and DisplayPort 1.2. Thunderbolt 3 supports the DisplayPort protocol too, so you can use one cable to daisy-chain and drive multiple 4K displays at 60Hz. But hardly any laptops used or would use Mini DisplayPort and, with USB-C coming to the fore and in many ways replacing Mini DisplayPort, it made perfect sense. This connector is used for simplicity foremost, but there are other reasons, too.Įarly versions of Thunderbolt relied on a Mini DisplayPort-style connector, and Apple was the only major manufacturer to embrace Thunderbolt. Thunderbolt 3 uses the same design as the familiar USB Type-C connector. In other words, all USB 4.x ports will be Thunderbolt capable to deliver the same speed and features. USB 4 is now on the way, which will include the Thunderbolt 3 specification within it. It could also daisy-chain devices together, such as your hard drive to your computer and a display to your hard drive. It could, for instance, pipe video data to displays.
MACBOOK PRO THUNDERBOLT PORT STOPPED WORKING SERIAL
Thunderbolt was capable of twice that, 10Gbps, plus it could transfer multiple types of data - not just serial data to storage devices. Intel introduced the Thunderbolt platform in 2011 at a time when USB 3.0 was all the rage and could transfer data at speeds up to 5Gbps. Now it's fairly normal to have at least one USB-C or Thunderbolt 3 port on a device. In 2018 when Apple introduced a new style MacBook Pro, it ditched every single port of its old machines and replaced it with just Thunderbolt 3.
They decide what you can do on your device and how quickly you can do it. (Pocket-lint) - The ports on the side of your laptop are important.