If it’s Thunderbolt 3 the lightning bolt appears as you see above. You can connect and charge nearly anything via this compact hub through a single port on your Thunderbolt 4 equipped PC. Thunderbolt™ 3 brings Thunderbolt™ technology to USB Type-C at speeds up to 40 Gbps, creating one compact port that does it all – delivering the fastest, most versatile connection to any dock, display or data device like an external hard drive. Delivering twice the bandwidth of Thunderbolt 2, it consolidates data transfer, video output, and charging into a single compact connector. To tell the difference, Thunderbolt 3 ports, cables, and gear are typically labeled with an arrow-shaped like a lightning bolt. Computer makers will likely continue to include standard USB ports on laptops to support legacy equipment of both home and enterprise users without the need for adapters. HDMI resolution support up to 4096x2160p @60Hz & 3840x2160p @60Hz When using USB, the Thunderbolt 3 port is limited to the USB speeds of the connected device, not the blazing fast speeds of Thunderbolt. His articles are regularly syndicated across numerous IDG sites including CIO, Computerworld, GameStar, Macworld UK, Tech Advisor, and TechConnect. RELATED: USB4: What's Different and Why It Matters. Plug-n-play, no driver installation, Specification Not every company wants to do that. Dual 4K displays or one 5K/6K/8K display, high-performance storage including NVMe solutions, A/V mixers, phone or tablet, even desktop accessories like a keyboard or mouse are all fair game. That all sounds pretty stellar and you can pre-order a fancy new OWC Thunderbolt Hub direct right now. It’s not clear if Intel plans on updating Thunderbolt to version 4, but the future for Thunderbolt 3 is very clear. Network connectivity through embedded 10/100/1000 BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet port
- 1x 9-pin, USB 3.0, Type-A, Female When we do get a Mac with Thunderbolt 3 support, we're in for a treat. Save an insane 73% on a new IPVanish subscription for a limited time. Legal | Thunderbolt 3, by comparison, supports video out of the box. Save big on these VPN services ahead of Black Friday. Aluminum housing, Product:
All rights reserved. *Trademarks | Thunderbolt 3 is a proprietary (for now) data and video transfer protocol developed by Intel.
You can also connect up to two 4K displays at 60Hz over DisplayPort. Compliant with HDMI 2.0 specification Join 250,000 subscribers and get a daily digest of news, geek trivia, and our feature articles. Once you understand the difference, however, it’s easy to figure out which port is which and how to use them.
Before we get to what Thunderbolt 3 can do compared to USB 3.1, let’s talk about what it looks like. Thunderbolt 3 certified To use it, PC makers need to obtain certification from Intel. In addition to writing for How-To Geek, he regularly contributes to PCWorld as a critic, feature writer, reporter, deal hunter, and columnist. Apple puts the port on all its current machines, including its laptops, desktops, and all-in-ones. For the first time, there's a hub that takes a single Thunderbolt 4 port and turns it into multiple Thunderbolt ports. Compact design quickly adds an additional display, convenient to use at home, office or travel makes this the perfect add-on to your workstation or laptop It'll cost $149 when it ships in late October. Both data transfer protocols use the same connector, but their potential uses vary. Disclaimers | Thunderbolt 3 port supports data transfer speeds up to 40Gbps and daisy chaining for Thunderbolt devices Thunderbolt 3 offers a connection with state-of-the-art speed and versatility. Newer laptops often come loaded with a port that accepts a reversible plug and supports very fast transfer speeds. How-To Geek is where you turn when you want experts to explain technology.
Companies can create devices that are just as capable as Thunderbolt 3 without the licensing issues from Intel. Of course, that future will probably take years to arrive. - Storage temperature: 14 to 158 degrees F Thunderbolt speeds don’t just mean you can transfer a two-hour 4K video to an external drive that much faster. All devices have to be using Thunderbolt 3. Samsung supports daisy-chaining for monitors with USB 3.1, Intel’s Thunderbolt protocol is merging into USB4, PSA: Watch Out For This New Amazon Email Phishing Scam, How to Message a Facebook Friend From Instagram, How to Pair Two Google Assistant Nest Speakers for Stereo Sound, How to Remove Edge Browser Tabs From Alt+Tab on Windows 10, © 2020 LifeSavvy Media. No spam, we promise. The easiest way to make sure you get Thunderbolt 3 is to buy a Mac. Once USB4 devices start rolling out, we expect that Thunderbolt 3 will eventually disappear. Ultimately, we might see a world where only USB4 with its Type C connector reigns supreme, and pretty much everything can just connect through that port, including storage devices, monitors, security keys, and more. With Thunderbolt 3, you can also daisy chain up to six additional devices to your source machine. - Weight: 0.33 lbs, Connectors:
We may earn a commission for purchases using our links. Zagg is trying to bring some elements of the Magic Keyboard to the masses with a "pro" keyboard that comes in under $100. Daisy chaining is typically used to connect multiple displays, but it could also be used to chain up several monitors and external hard drives off of a single port. Adds USB 2.0/3.0 to connect to various USB devices simultaneously
Be bold and rock that blue Fitbit Versa Lite! Laptops are a different story with select (and often pricier) models carrying Thunderbolt 3 ports. The possibilities are insane. Ignore all that PC stuff. - Operating temperature: 32 to 104 degrees F - Relative humidity: 5% to 95% RH (non-condensing), Certifications/Standards: FCC, CE, RoHS
1 Thunderbolt™ 3 provides DisplayPort, which can natively connect to all displays with DisplayPort and mini-DisplayPort, and via adapters can connect to all other modern display interfaces, including HDMI, DVI, and VGA.. 2 As compared to other PC I/O connection technologies including eSATA, USB, and IEEE 1394 Firewire. Apple has also updated Garageband for iOS with faster ways of starting an audio recording and a new keyboard sound pack. That’s too bad because Thunderbolt 3 is incredibly fast. Now, here’s the critical point about Thunderbolt 3 and USB: A Thunderbolt 3 port can also function as a USB port, but a USB port cannot work as Thunderbolt 3. Some examples include the Alienware M17, Asus ZenBook S UX391, and the Lenovo ThinkPad X390 Yoga.
- 1x 8P8C, Gigabit Ethernet LAN, Environmental conditions:
Find low everyday prices and buy online for delivery or in-store pick-up Thunderbolt and Thunderbolt 2 are not the same as Mini DisplayPort . Performance will vary depending on the specific hardware and software used. The current top version of USB is USB 3.1 Gen 2, which is capable of speeds up to 10 Gigabits per second (Gbps). Oh, and a USB-A port as well. The above article may contain affiliate links, which help support How-To Geek. Chipset: Intel JHL6540+TPS65983+PS176+ASM1042A External docking station adds two HDMI, USB 2.0/3.0 and Gigabit Ethernet connectivity to your Thunderbolt 3 enabled laptop Thunderbolt 3 port supports data transfer speeds up to 40Gbps and daisy chaining for Thunderbolt devices Enables dual 4K HDMI displays up to 4096x2160 @60Hz & 3840x2160p @60Hz resolution
Just, you know. However, Alt Mode is that it’s an optional feature that OEMs have to enable. Compliant with USB 3.0 specification and backward compatible with USB 2.0 and 1.1 Privacy, ODM Design & Manufacturing Service Providers. Thunderbolt 3 has a “fallback” option, where if it cannot communicate with a connected device as a Thunderbolt unit, then it tries the USB protocol. By submitting your email, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. USB 3.1 Gen 2 supports video as well in what’s called “Alt Mode” where you can connect directly to a DisplayPort monitor–HDMI is also possible. Not every watchband will go with that color, however, so here are some of our favorites to go with that deep blue shade.
Save an insane 73% on a new IPVanish subscription for a limited time. Finally, Thunderbolt 3 can support PCIe devices such as external graphics card docks, while USB 3.1 does not. Since we launched in 2006, our articles have been read more than 1 billion times. I would like to receive news and offers from other Future brands. Ian Paul is a freelance writer with over a decade of experiencing writing about tech.