Technology standards don’t sit still for long, either USB, DisplayPortor Wifi, they constantly get new skills and a new number added to the end of their names. The latest protocol to reach the masses of consumers is Thunderbolt 4. Its arrival is likely to have a major impact on the laptop and desktop market, and here is everything you need to know about it.
If you’re brand new to Thunderbolt, a quick summary: It’s a hardware interface formally released on a device in 2011 by Intel and Apple, a standard for connecting two devices together, and one that incorporates other standards like PCI Express (PCIe), DisplayPort and (with the arrival of Thunderbolt 3) USB-C for the actual final connector.
As we have explained before, USB-C is a type of physical connector, not a standard for changing 1s and 0s (in fact, it supports several of these standards, including USB and DisplayPort). These connectors are often developed in conjunction with USB technology (like USB 3.0), which is where the confusion can quickly set in, and even more so when Thunderbolt 3 decides to use USB-C connections as well.
It’s actually a bit more complicated than that, because not all USB-C ports are Thunderbolt 3 ports, although all Thunderbolt 3 ports are USB-C compatible (we know, we know). While any USB-C device will work with a Thunderbolt 3 port, not all Thunderbolt 3 devices will work with a USB-C port that lacks Thunderbolt 3 extras.
G / O Media may receive a commission
When it comes to the connector at least, Thunderbolt 3 is like enhanced USB-C. High-end notebooks like the Macbook pro and the Dell XPS 13 use enhanced USB-C with Thunderbolt 3, so they can support Thunderbolt and USB peripherals – the XPS 13 actually has two standard USB-C ports and two USB-C-with-Thunderbolt-3 ports, showing you just how complicated this is. It may be for the average consumer.
You can plug any USB or Thunderbolt drive or display into one of the Thunderbolt 3 ports on your Dell XPS 13, and it would work; however, only drives and displays that use USB would be guaranteed to work with the standard USB-C port without Thunderbolt 3, although some Thunderbolt devices would work, with certain limitations (lower speeds, for example). Hopefully now it’s crystal clear …
This is all a pretty long preamble, but it’s important to cover it up to properly understand Thunderbolt 4. Confusion and multiple standards aren’t benefiting anyone right now, so Thunderbolt 4 brings Thunderbolt and USB (both the connector type and the transfer protocol) closer than ever. Long-winded explainers like the one we just passed soon should be sent into history, hopefully.
USB 4 It is borrowing a lot of Thunderbolt 3 standards, which means Thunderbolt 4 can borrow them again and bring the two technologies closer together. In fact, one of the main improvements in Thunderbolt 4 is the adoption of USB 4 standards: the maximum bandwidth remains the same as in Thunderbird 3, 40 Gbps.
However, some of the minimum requirements are changing, requirements that must exist to earn the Thunderbolt 4 badge. That 40 Gbps figure is now a minimum requirement rather than a maximum potential, so laptops cannot have different ports. Thunderbolt with different speeds, and all Thunderbolt 4 ports must be able to power two 4K displays simultaneously (previously optional with Thunderbolt 3).
The theoretical limit for PCIe data transfer in particular is 32 Gbps, while Thunderbolt 4 will also be able to maintain its maximum performance on cables up to two meters (six and a half feet) in length. Thunderbolt 3, performance levels may change depending on the length of cabling used.
A Thunderbolt 4 laptop must have at least one port capable of charging the device at 100W capacity, while Intel’s VT-d virtualization technology (which protects against direct memory attacks by isolating certain sections of memory) it must now be incorporated as a requirement; in the Thunderbolt 3 specification, it is an option. Another requirement for Thunderbolt 4 will be that laptops must be able to charge via a Thunderbolt cradle and wake up from sleep mode when connected to one.
The USB-C connector is retained, of course, and Thunderbolt 4 products will work when connected to Thunderbolt 3 ports, even if the performance isn’t what it would be with a fully Thunderbolt 4-compatible chain of ports, cables, and cables. devices. Also, Thunderbolt 4 docks will be able to perform some additional tricks in terms of how many different devices can connect in the same configuration.
While the comparison between Thunderbolt 3 and Thunderbolt 4 doesn’t look all that exciting, wrapping up more seamless USB compatibility and increasing the minimum requirements justifies the further increase in numbers – it should finally take some of the confusion and guesswork out of using Thunderbolt.
Thunderbolt 4 compatibility will hit laptops with the introduction of Intel’s Tiger Lake processors, which are expected to hit the market in the very near future. If manufacturers want, they should be able to incorporate Thunderbolt 4 into their devices before the end of the year. In other words, look at this space.
And where does this leave Mac and the move to Apple Silicon? As you may have noticed, the iPad Pro’s USB-C ports use USB instead of Thunderbolt, though Thunderbolt 3 is standard on MacBook Pros and MacBook Air. Even when Apple moves away from Intel processors, it said in a statement given to The edge and others who remain committed to “the future of Thunderbolt”, which we hope means Thunderbolt 4 and Thunderbolt 3.
.
