20 MACWORLD SEPTEMBER 2020
MACUSER THUNDERBOLT 4know what will work with that Type-C
connector and what won’t.
Intel has a new standard, Thunderbolt
4, that it hopes will help cut through
the confusion. It doesn’t bring faster
speeds (the maximum is still 40Gbps) or
major new capabilities, but it has stricter
minimum requirements and certification
guidelines. The hope is that Thunderbolt
4 will be the “complete version of USB-C,”
as Intel puts it.
HOW THUNDERBOLT 4 IS
DIFFERENT
In many ways, Thunderbolt 4 is the same
as Thunderbolt 3. At least, it has many of
the same maximum capabilities: 40Gbps
throughput, 15W minimum power delivery
for accessories, support for two 4K
monitors, and so on. But many
Thunderbolt 3 ports on PCs do not actually
meet these best-case specifications, and
they’re not all required for certification.
Thunderbolt 4 raises the minimum
requirements substantially.
You might think of Thunderbolt 4 as a
sort of “guaranteed maximum capability
Thunderbolt 3.”WHAT THIS MEANS FOR
FUTURE APPLE PRODUCTS
While Thunderbolt and USB-C
implementation has been a big mess on
Windows PCs, Apple’s recent Macs have
been a shining example of top-notch
Thunderbolt implementation. Modern Macs
tend to support the maximum throughput,
eGPUs, and multiple 4K monitors on their
Thunderbolt 3
ports.
But not every
Apple product
with a Type-C
port supports
Thunderbolt 3.
The iPad Pro has
a USB-C port and
supports external
displays using
the DisplayPort
standard, but is
not a Thunderbolt
port. The 12-inchThunderbolt 4 has similar maximum capabilities to Thunderbolt 3, but
much higher minimum requirements.