“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