Thunderbolt 3 explained: The one port to rule them all

Let’s face it: ports are boring.

USB, Firewire, eSATA, etc. They’re not sexy, but they’re important. They decide what you can do on your device and how quickly you can do it. So, when Apple introduced its latest MacBook Pro laptops with Thunderbolt 3 ports, you probably didn’t think much about it – until you realized Apple ditched every single port on its old machines and replaced it with just Thunderbolt 3 on the new MacBook Pros. So, what does that mean?

Well, if you want to connect anything to the new MacBook Pro laptops, you’ll need to via any of the Thunderbolt 3 ports. You can’t simply plug in your devices via old USB cables or HDMI cables or whatever. If you want to do anything with the new MacBook Pros, you’re going to need to buy new cables with a USB Type-C connector (about £226 worth, in fact). Why would Apple do this to us?

The answer is easy: Thunderbolt 3 is the one port to rule them all. Here’s everything you need to know.

What is Thunderbolt 3?

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. But Thunderbolt was capable of twice that. Plus, it could transfer multiple types of data, not just serial data to storage devices. It could, for instance, pipe video data to displays. It could also daisy chain devices together, such as your hard drive to your computer and a display to your hard drive.

Intel

Thunderbolt 3 is the latest version of Thunderbolt, and it uses a USB Type-C connector. Intel uses the new connector for a number of reasons. Early versions of Thunderbolt relied on a Mini DisplayPort connector, and Apple was the only major manufacturer to embrace Thunderbolt, but now that Thunderbolt uses a USB Type-C connector, it is starting to show up in not just new MacBook Pros but also new ultrabooks and notebooks.

Thunderbolt 3 first appeared with Intel’s Skylake chips that rolled out in 2015, so that’s why you’re seeing a tonne of devices showing up this year with Thunderbolt 3 ports, including the new MacBook Pro laptops. Apple is sticking with Thunderbolt 3 because it can do a lot with a single cable. It supports the DisplayPort protocol, for instance, so you can use one cable to daisy-chain and drive two 4K displays at 60 Hz.

Thunderbolt 3 allows for connection speeds up to 40Gbps, double the speed of the previous generation, USB 3.1 10Gbps, and DisplayPort 1.2. It also offers USB speeds of up to 10 Gbps, and it can connect up to two 4K displays, outputting video and audio signal at the same time. It also supports DisplayPort 1.2, HDMI 2.0, and 10 GbE fast networking. Plus, Thunderbolt 3 is backwards compatible to Thunderbolt 2.

What is USB Type-C?

Thunderbolt 3 first features a USB Type-C connector. A connector is found at the end of the cable you stick into a device. USB Type-C, for instance, is the latest USB connector that’s all the rage. It’s replacing Micro USB connectors used by most Android phones and even USB Type-A, which is the standard USB connector people imagine when they hear “USB”. Apple’s 12-inch MacBook even has a single USB Type-C port.

Pocket-lint

USB Type-C is well-known because it allows for quicker data transfer. By default, USB Type C offers 7.5W and 15W transmissions, whereas USB 3.0 offers 4.5 W transmission. USB Type-C also allows your devices to charge, because it can transmit up to 100W, which is enough to charge most laptops. That means you can use a single cable with a USB Type-C connector to quickly transfer data to your device while you charge it.

But the most interesting thing about USB Type-C is that the connector is reversible. There is no “right way up” for the connector. You can blindly just stick it into a port on a device, and it’ll smoothly go in and just work.

Why is Apple using Thunderbolt 3?

Apple has embraced Thunderbolt 3 not only because of its USB Type-C connector but also because of Thunderbolt 3’s features.

One computer port can connect you to Thunderbolt devices, all displays, and billions of USB devices. It provides four times the data and twice the video bandwidth of any other cable, while also supplying up to 100W of power. You can use it to connect your Mac to displays, transfer data quickly between computers and hard drives, daisy chain external devices, and power up – all with just one physical connection.

Intel

For years, Macs have had USB ports and Thunderbolt ports. Now, they’re combined. The thing to remember about Thunderbolt 3 is that it uses the same design connector as USB Type-C, but it offers support for a wide range of different standards (like HDMI, USB, DisplayPort), and it does everything faster while supplying power. You just need the right cable to plug into it.

Not all USB Type-C ports support Thunderbolt 3. While smartphones and tablets may use the connector, the Thunderbolt platform is only available on devices with Intel processors. So, you while you can technically plug any USB Type-C device or cable into a Thunderbolt 3 port, it won’t support Thunderbolt’s features. And a Thunderbolt 3 peripheral plugged into a regular USB Type-C port won’t support Thunderbolt features either.

Do other laptops use Thunderbolt 3?

Pocket-lint

Apart from Apple’s latest MacBook Pro laptops, tonnes of laptops offer Thunderbolt 3 ports. The Asus Transformer 3 and Transformer 3 Pro, Alienware 13, Dell XPS 13, HP Elite X2 and Folio, HP Spectre and Spectre x260, Razer Blade Stealth, Lenovo ThinkPad Y900, and dozens more have shipped with Thunderbolt 3 ports. Ultrabook Review has a comprehensive list of all the laptops now available with Thunderbolt 3.

Want to know more?

Check out the Thunderbolt 3 promo video above and Intel’s FAQ page.