“For many years, it looked like Thunderbolt was destined to be a modern version of FireWire: faster and smarter than contemporary USB interfaces, but so rare outside of Macs that there isn’t a very wide range of accessories beyond adapters and external hard drives,” Andrew Cunningham writes for Ars Technica. “Thunderbolt versions 1 and 2 are available in most Macs sold between 2011 and now, but it has been included in just a handful of PC laptops and high-end motherboards.”
“Thunderbolt 3 is turning that around,” Cunningham writes. “The port is suddenly beginning to show up in high-end offerings from just about every major PC OEM, starting with some Lenovo workstation laptops and Dell’s new XPS lineup and continuing in laptops and convertibles from HP, Acer, Intel, and others.”
“We’ve been talking to the PC companies at CES about this sudden turnaround, and their answers have all been in more or less the same vein,” Cunningham writes. “The increased speed of Thunderbolt 3 combined with all the benefits of USB Type-C (including driving displays via Alternate Mode and charging laptops via Power Delivery) has finally made Thunderbolt convenient enough to be worth the trouble.”
Much more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: As usual, Apple leads and all others follow at a great distance.
SEE ALSO:
One cable to do it all: Thunderbolt 3 gets USB-C connector – June 2, 2015
Thunderbolt isn’t just a faster USB – and Mac buyers see that – August 25, 2011
Thunderbolt-equipped Mac: You’re so going to want this – May 5, 2011
Apple expanding Thunderbolt team for new devices with ultra-high speed ports – April 6, 2011
Intel: Apple has year-long headstart on Thunderbolt – February 24, 2011
Report: Apple dictated ‘Light Peak’ creation to Intel – September 26, 2009
This is all good. New peripherals will be much less expensive and easier to find using the USB-C standard. There will no doubt be lots of USB-C docking monitors for laptops. This probably explains why Apple hasn’t updated the thunderbolt monitor. I expect a USB-C monitor from Apple when new MacBook Pros with USB-C start shipping this spring.
Now if only I can upgrade my Mac Pro to Thunderbolt 3, or does Apple really expect me to spend another $4K?
Blame Intel not Apple. It is impossible to upgrade to Thundebolt 3. It is supported by new chipset from Intel which won’t be available for the CPU inside your Mac Pro.
Yeah, but it’s not like I can just go and pick up a motherboard…
Sure, some of this is on Intel’s plate, but who’s notorious for non-upgradability?
I’d say they’re both at fault. Even if it were possible to get a Thunderbolt expansion card for a Mac Pro, the current Mac Pro wouldn’t be able to accept it.
The reason you stated sounds like Apple’s excuse for not putting USB 3 in Macs which have Thunderbolt; it can be done with an external adapter, so it should be able to be included on the logic board.
I own some AAPL. Please spend another $4K.
Tell you what… You tell me when you plan to sell your shares, I’ll buy a new Mac Pro then. 😉
I think the main reason for Thunderbolt gaining traction is eGPUs. Asus and Razer have finally started making Thunderbolt graphics card enclosures which include Power Supply Units. And until now, you could use an Akitio Thunder2, just with a better power supply, and if you needed more room, you could use a different case.
Thunderbolt 3 and eventually 4 are when things get interesting. High end Windows PC’s still have the advantage of PCIe 3 16X slots which are still faster then Thunderbolt 3 I believe.
I wish Apple would make two versions of the Mac Pro, one tower and one doughnut trash can style. And I hope whatever Mac Pro is going to be released in 2016 comes out soon. I’m barely flying on 2007 Mac Pro fumes and in sore need of an upgrade before some big future projects come up.
I’m on the precipice of switching to a high end PC or a new Mac Pro, but my preference far and away is the latter of course. At least with a PC tower workstation though you have isolated component upgrade options instead of whole machine replacement as with the Mac Pro now.
What are you talking about? The RAM and SSD are easily upgradable. The CPU and GPUs are also upgradable with a little skill and the right tools. It is easier to get to the components than a tower. The MacPro is not like the the other Macs now that are not. I do understand the laptops not being upgradable, but not the mini or iMac. I think a lot of technicians don’t want people to know that in several ways the MacPro is easier to upgrade and a hell of a lot easier to move around than a tower. The MacPro makes it easier for end users, like video editors, to work on their machines. Gives them flexibility they don’t have with towers.
Thunderbolt is Intel product not Apples. Yes Apple started it but has no control of it now. I do think TB3 will be a game changer with USB-C. This could finally get other high end laptops to include it, and more hardware for it.
I know some things were upgradeable but from what I’ve heard the CPU’s and GPU’s not so much. (I see online that OWC has done this.) You also don’t have any room for extra internal storage. And you can’t upgrade things like Thunderbolt (by simply changing a card) which is pretty critical. You are limited by Thunderbolt’s speed when you attach external boxes. Also what limitations are placed on the GPU bus? You might upgrade but not be able to take full advantage of your upgrade.
For me I don’t move around with my gear so having a tower is not a problem.
As far as I can tell, the GPU on the new Mac Pro uses a proprietary connector for the GPU.
My friend has a high end PC. He upgraded to a top of the line graphics card.
The ps did not have enough plugs to supply the current so he bought a new ps. Then something glitches and now he may need a new motherboard.
Just love those PC cobble together STUFF computers filled with some of this and some of that and call it a work station. Lol. But I do feel sorry for the guy.
Yeah I know though if you buy top components you will minimize PC issues. Friends of mine don’t have many problems with their PC VFX/Edit/graphics machines under heavy usage. But I’d really rather not open the PC Pandora’s Box since I would probably have different productivity busting results.
Thunderbolt essentially is an external PCI standard. But as we should know, internal PCI slots will always be faster than the same vintage external ports or wireless. Always.
With the 2013 Mac Pro, Apple stupidly thought that people didn’t care about the performance limitations and clunky wires nest and external boxes that one would need to support the typical power user. They were wrong, and Mac Pro sales reflect it. Apple was also wrong to abandon rack-mountable servers, but that’s a whole other issue.
So while USB-C looks like a winner of a connector, and indeed it is super handy to be about to connect peripherals with fast connections, the power user is definitely better served by internal PCI card slots.
Now that Apple is solely focused on iOS and consumer grade hardware, I fully expect Apple’s Mac Pro to remain well behind the PC workstations which allow users THEIR CHOICE of internal or external expansion, with a great array of internal and external upgrades to GPUs, memory, and whatever the pro/gamer/specialist user needs.
Thanks for nothing, Cook.
Well I hate to agree with you but I do. Professional market doesn’t care so much about slick design as functional and totally upgradeable machines. It’s the ONLY reason I would consider going PC workstation after sticking mostly with Macs since 1992. I’m holding out hope in a hopefully new Mac Pro that might miraculously address this issue soon, but I’m not hopeful. The audio workstation market can really use the new design for it’s quietness and smaller size but with video, 3D and graphics not so much.
From the CES 2016 video on the source article page, I’m seeing a remarkable number of products imitating Apple’s traditional ad and box white background theme. I’m also noticing PC laptops looking like MacBook Air, especially with the big trackpad that has no buttons. It’s kind of obvious who sets the trend.
Nobody is following Apple’s Mac Pro trend.
Apple doesn’t seem to care about the Mac Pro themselves, so why bother?
First, it’s not Apple’s technology, it’s Intel technology. Tying it to USB 3.1 is a great idea.
Any technology that extracts a license fee will never reach broad adoption.
The comments about the unreliability of home built PCs is just plain wrong. If you buy cheap components you wilkl fail.
We’ve built many pCs and “Hackintosh machines”. They’re as reliable as any Mac.
Anyone who bought a trash can Mac is now finding that Apple doesn’t give a hoot about you, only your cash.
Alas, if you’re going to buy a Mac, it’s the best, if grossly imperfect option…
There’s not a Mac Mini or iMac you could even gift to me any more.