Thunderbolt 3

Feature AppleInsider is supported by its audience and may earn commission as an Amazon Associate and affiliate partner on qualifying purchases. These affiliate partnerships do not influence our editorial content. With the varieties of USB and Thunderbolt terminology floating about, as well as new versions being adopted by Apple and other device producers, sorting out the mess can be a problem. Here's what you need to know about USB 3, USB 4, Thunderbolt 3, and Thunderbolt 4. For most users, there are two general families of multi-purpose connections: USB and Thunderbolt. Both have their benefits and their foibles, as well as sharing many characteristics, but the two technology trees are, largely, quite different. If you don't read any further, here's your main takeaway: The term "USB-C" by itself doesn't specify anything for data, charging, or video beyond the physicality of the connector. But, as you might expect, there are a lot of details behind USB … [Read more...] about USB 3, USB 4, Thunderbolt, & USB-C — everything you need to know

Article Hero Image AppleInsider may earn an affiliate commission on purchases made through links on our site. Apple introduced USB-C to its user base with the retina 12-inch MacBook. At the time, it was a fancy USB port limited to USB 3.0 speeds of 5Gbit per second, and was officially called USB 3.1 Type-C Generation 1. The same physical port was used in the 2016 MacBook Pro refresh, offering a faster, more capable Thunderbolt 3 port with the same USB-C physical connector. The Thunderbolt 3 protocol allows for 40Gbit per second — assuming the cabling for it is right. But, right now, confusion reigns — and a simple choice that Apple made in the 2016 MacBook Pro is making it worse. USB-C versus USB 3.1 versus Thunderbolt 3 Put simply, USB-C as a term by itself means nothing about data speed or charging ability — it's only a description of the physical connector. Thunderbolt 3 at 40Gbit per second has to be USB-C at both ends. USB 3.1 at … [Read more...] about PSA: Thunderbolt 3 cables longer than 0.5m generally don’t support USB 3.1 speeds

Article Hero Image AppleInsider may earn an affiliate commission on purchases made through links on our site. The tech giant in a statement to AppleInsider said Apple silicon Macs will support Thunderbolt's latest specifications. Thunderbolt's future on Mac was in question as Apple is in the beginning stages of transitioning away from Intel's x86 architecture in favor of its own ARM designs. "Over a decade ago, Apple partnered with Intel to design and develop Thunderbolt, and today our customers enjoy the speed and flexibility it brings to every Mac," the company said. "We remain committed to the future of Thunderbolt and will support it in Macs with Apple silicon." Apple's promise to continue support for the specification arrives hours after Intel detailed the forthcoming Thunderbolt 4 standard in a press release. While the updated protocol retains the 40Gb/s data throughput spec from Thunderbolt 3, more stringent minimum system requirements will deliver a … [Read more...] about Apple silicon Macs to support Thunderbolt despite shift to ARM

Credit: Intel AppleInsider may earn an affiliate commission on purchases made through links on our site. The Thunderbolt 4 standard will be backward compatible with previous Intel ports and cables, and will also be cross-compatible with USB4 . Compared to Thunderbolt 3 , it'll offer a number of tangible benefits to consumers while retaining the USB-C connector type. For example, it'll allow for universal cables up to two meters long without needing to resort to active cables that leave out older USB standards. Thunderbolt 4 will also support accessories, such as docks, with up to four Thunderbolt 4 ports . The standard will double the minimum video and data requirements of Thunderbolt 3. Other features include the ability to wake up a computer from sleep by touching a peripheral connected to a Thunderbolt dock, and protection against physical DMA attacks . Thunderbolt 4 will debut on Intel's Tiger Lake Processors for laptops later in 2020. Intel … [Read more...] about Intel details Thunderbolt 4 spec, but ‘Apple silicon’ support is unclear [u]

Article Hero Image AppleInsider may earn an affiliate commission on purchases made through links on our site. The USB Implementers Forum has announced that revealed USB 4 is finalized for wide deployment. While the implementation of USB 4 by vendors may be a long time away from happening, the draft specification itself is expected to be published later in 2019. The specification spans Thunderbolt 3, as chip producer Intel has contributed Thunderbolt 3 to the group. The inclusion will effectively make it easier for vendors to produce devices using the technology at a cheaper rate than at present, and possibly without any of the current confusion of USB and Thunderbolt 3 connectivity due to using the same USB Type-C connector. The benefits — and some disadvantages — of USB 4 are the same as those of Thunderbolt 3, including a throughput of up to 40Gbps, and may include elements such as power delivery of up to 100W, allowing notebooks to be charged over … [Read more...] about USB 4 is here, and is essentially Thunderbolt 3

Feature Article Hero Image AppleInsider may earn an affiliate commission on purchases made through links on our site. Apple introduced USB-C to its user base with the Retina 12-inch MacBook. At the time, it was in essence a basic USB port that could power the Mac from an external source, yet limited to USB 3.0 speeds of 5Gbit per second. It was officially called USB 3.1 type C Generation 1. The same physical port was used in the 2016 MacBook Pro refresh, offering a faster, more capable Thunderbolt 3 connection with the same USB-C physical connector. And now, the MacBook Air and Mac mini has Thunderbolt 3, and the iPad Pro is a USB 3.1 type C device, instead of Lightning. Two years down the road, let's take a look at what Thunderbolt 3 and USB-C means to Apple users. And, we'll try to ease some of your pain if you're in the middle of the battle. USB-C versus USB 3.1 versus Thunderbolt 3 Put simply, and we cannot emphasize this strongly … [Read more...] about USB-C cable shopping for an iPad or Thunderbolt 3 Mac is still a nightmare for consumers

Feature Lightning, USB-C and the original USB-A AppleInsider may earn an affiliate commission on purchases made through links on our site. Flex your power Like the Retina MacBook, the new MacBook Pro models no longer use MagSafe, Apple's quick release magnetic plug for delivering power. Power is now delivered via USB-C, which fits snuggly enough to pull your laptop off the edge of a table if something inadvertently tugs the cable hard enough. While many are weeping over the death of their beloved MagSafe, I've always been of the opinion that the connector was simply a proprietary effort by Apple to monopolize the resale market for charging adapters. The one-piece design of MagSafe adapters also meant that MacBook power adapters could only be used to charge a MagSafe notebook; the cable was also integrated into the adapter, so if the wire itself or its connector junction wears out or is damaged you have to replace both as a package. Another … [Read more...] about Everything you need to know about USB-C & Thunderbolt 3 on Apple’s new MacBook Pro

Article Hero Image AppleInsider may earn an affiliate commission on purchases made through links on our site. Latest Amazon offers on Apple The latest Apple discounts on Amazon include deals on AirPods and MacBook discounts , but three offers that stand out include $40 savings on the 44mm GPS Apple Watch SE and the 64GB iPad Air 4 (Wi-Fi) in Sky Blue , plus a new $120 price drop on the iMac 4K (also available at B&H Photo ). These promotions offer shoppers the lowest Apple prices , according to our Price Guide. And with inventory constraints still affecting the Apple space, it's best to order now to secure your place in line. At press time, the 44mm Apple Watch SE (GPS) is in stock in Space Gray Aluminum with a Black Sport Band, while the Sky Blue iPad Air 4 is expected to ship by Jan. 20. Also on sale, the iMac 4K spec that's currently $1,379 features Intel's 6-core 3.0GHz Core i5 chip as opposed to the quad-core Core i3 found in … [Read more...] about Apple Deals on Amazon: 44mm Apple Watch SE $269; iPad Air 4 $559; $120 off iMac; accessory sale

AMD will be expanding its Radeon RX 6000 graphics card line on March 3, with the launch thought to introduce lower-priced options that could eventually be used with the Mac Pro or eGPU solutions. The first Radeon RX 6000-series GPUs were introduced on October 28, with the RX 6800, RX 6800 XT, and RX 6900 XT unveiled by AMD. In an announcement made on Twitter, AMD plans to add more cards to the range. The tweet proclaims "the journey continues for RDNA2" at 11 A.M. Eastern on March 3. The event will be the third episode of AMD's "Where Gaming Begins" virtual event streams, and is confirmed via the tweet to include at least one new card. On March 3rd, the journey continues for #RDNA2 . Join us at 11AM US Eastern as we reveal the latest addition to the @AMD Radeon RX 6000 graphics family. https://t.co/5CFvT9D2SR pic.twitter.com/tUpUwRfpgk — Radeon RX (@Radeon) February 24, 2021 Current speculation is that AMD's next card will be one that extends the … [Read more...] about AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT GPU may launch at March 3 event

AMD unveiled a trio of RX 6000 series GPUs, three RDNA 2 powered cards that undercut Nvidia's RTX 30 series in price with comparable performance and lower power consumption. AMD's three new cards all use the company's RDNA 2 architecture, which it envisions as the foundation of next-gen PC and console gaming. AMD designed RDNA 2 to provide an optimal balance of performance and power-efficiency. The architecture will also power both the PS5 and Xbox Series X. Along with increased performance and power efficiency, the GPUs also have ray-tracing capabilities and variable-rate shading. That brings the AMD cards more in-line with main rival Nvidia. The $649 Radeon RX 6800 XT is a direct competitor to the Nvidia RTX 3080. AMD says you can expect 4K and 1440p gaming performance that matches or beats the RTX 3080. At 250W, it also draws less board power than the Nvidia equivalent. The card has 72 compute units, 16GB of GDDR6 memory, and a 2,015MHz game clock. The Radeon RX … [Read more...] about AMD debuts first Radeon RX 6000 PCI-E video cards