Tomas Chlebek Unusual connectors, cables and adapters have always been talked about in connection with Apple products, but in recent years it seems to be on the rise. Apple's thinking in this is quite innovative, but controversial, especially on new MacBook Pros. What exactly is Thunderbolt 3?
First, in 2014, Apple introduced a 12-inch MacBook containing only two connectors, USB-C and a 3,5 mm headphone jack. Other devices also underwent reductions in the number of connectors – loudest iPhone, the latest MacBook Pro. The new models from last month have only two or four USB-C type connectors with Thunderbolt 3,5 interface, in addition to the 3mm output for audio. This is a new standard developed by Intel to provide the most powerful and compatible interface (data transfer medium) and connector (physical interface proportions).
Thunderbolt 3 really meets these specifications – it is capable of transferring data at speeds of up to 40Gb/s (USB 3.0 has 5Gb/s), includes PCI Express and DisplayPort (fast data transfer and audiovisual single transfer) and can also supply power up to 100 watts. It also supports up to six-level chaining in series (daisy chaining) – connecting other devices to previous ones within the chain.
In addition, it has the same connector as USB-C, which is supposed to be the new universal standard. The downside of all these great parameters and versatility is, paradoxically, compatibility. Users must be careful about which cables they use to connect which devices. In addition, if they have a MacBook with USB-C and not a MacBook Pro with Thunderbolt 3, they have to be careful what devices they want to connect to it in the first place.
Until now, the rule that if the connectors correspond in shape, they are compatible has been quite reliable. Now users need to realize that a connector and an interface are not the same thing - one is a physical proportion, the other is associated with technological functionality. USB-C has a bus capable of combining several lines for data transfer of different types (transfer protocols). It can thus combine USB, DisplayPort, PCI Express, Thunderbolt and MHL protocols (a protocol for connecting mobile devices with high-resolution monitors) into one type of connector.
It supports all of these natively - data transfer does not require conversion of the signal to another type. Adapters are used for signal conversion, through which HDMI, VGA, Ethernet and FireWire can be connected to USB-C. In practice, both types of cables (for direct transmission and adapters) will look the same, but work differently. HDMI announced native USB-C support recently, and monitors capable of using it are said to appear in 2017.
However, not all USB-C connectors and cables support the same data or power transfer methods. For example, some may only support data transfer, only video transfer, or offer only limited speed. The lower transmission speed applies, for example, to the two Thunderbolt connectors on the right side of the new one 13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar.
Another example would be a cable with Thunderbolt 3 connectors on both sides looking exactly the same as a cable with USB-C connectors on both sides. The first can transfer data at least 4 times faster, and the second may not work for connecting peripherals with Thunderbolt 3. On the other hand, two identical-looking cables with USB-C on one side and USB 3 on the other side can also fundamentally differ in transfer speed.
Thunderbolt 3 cables and connectors should always be backwards compatible with USB-C cables and devices, but the reverse is not always the case. Therefore, users of the new MacBook Pro may be deprived of performance, users of 12-inch MacBook and other computers with USB-C may be deprived of functionality if the wrong choice of accessories is made. However, even MacBook Pros with Thunderbolt 3 may not be compatible with everything - devices with the first generation of Thunderbolt 3 controllers will not work with them.
Fortunately, Apple has prepared for the 12-inch MacBook instruction with a list of reducers and adapters it offers. USB-C in the MacBook is natively compatible with USB 2 and 3 (or 3.1 1st generation) and with DisplayPort and through adapters with VGA, HDMI and Ethernet, but it does not support Thunderbolt 2 and FireWire. Information on MacBook Pros with Thunderbolt 3 are available here.
Apple reducers and adapters are among the more expensive, but they guarantee the indicated compatibility. For example, cables from the brands Belkin and Kensington are also reliable. Another source might be Amazon, which is a good place to keep an eye on review eg from Google engineer Benson Leung.
So hopefully the new Macbook will also have thunderbolt 3, so Apple users are obliged :D
They would have to put graphics in the macbook that can handle at least 4K. The current macbook has no Thunderbolt.
I think there will never be a TB12 in the Macbook (3″) because it would spoil the sales of the MacBook Pro… ;)
By the way, the reduction from Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 is not compatible with the DVI interface. Thunderbolt 2 in older Macs could also be used with a miniDVI to DVI reduction via a reduction, and the display could then be connected via DVI. It doesn't work like that with the new mbp.
Here are the ratings for that reduction:
http://www.apple.com/shop/reviews/MMEL2AM/A/thunderbolt-3-usb-c-to-thunderbolt-2-adapter
So if I understood it that way, it is apparently not compatible with Display Port either.
Exactly. It is not compatible with display port either. Apple wants us to buy new monitors with the new MacBook Pro :-)
So now we're completely screwed. You practically never know if you have the right cable and hole or not. This is again a super well-thought-out universal solution. I wonder how long it will be before someone comes up with another guaranteed single standard of the future. I suppose it will be as soon as we all buy reducers and equipment with the "current standard".
For all those with new Macbooks Pro (later 2016):
Kensington USB-C Mobile Dock - works 100%, just install the ethernet driver
I-TEC USB 3.1 Type-C - works fine, pass-through power, slightly warms up with multiple USBs connected
Unfortunately HDMI doesn't have 4K :(
This 4K can: http://www.ebay.com/itm/302120395166
User friendly is definitely crap. Tim Cook has misunderstood the Mac platform and is slowly but surely destroying it. Under Jobs, Macs were updated twice a year. Cook does it in a year and a half or longer. And overpriced and poorly usable resources will come out of it. Looks more and more like Balmer :(
One is slowly starting to look at the competition. I never even thought it could happen. Such a pity…
I don't have a Macbook, but personally I think it will do just fine. Now there are clouds of users who need clouds of ports, connect x times a day who knows what, but the reality is different. And even if not, iOvečky are so entangled in the Apple ecosystem that even if Cook served you a notebook without any port, people would buy it. Apple is like a cult. A non-Apple solution is perfectly possible for practically everything and is always cheaper than an Apple solution. But now a lot of Apple supporters will swarm here and will argue with great free and cool design, great tuning, words like style, image and prestige. And it will be painted. As Apple is not led by a technological visionary, but by a businessman, it doesn't get any better
You don't have a Macbook, but you make judgments. By the way, very stupid judgments. Not everyone is a sheep, and plenty of people still use Apple products for their undeniable qualities that the average PC user doesn't even notice. Sure, there are alternatives to everything, but that's not what it's about. I agree that after Steve Jobs left, Apple is going somewhere that I don't quite understand. And I fully agree with the fact that with those USB-C / TB3 / non-TB3 ports, Apple really screwed it up. However, I still have plenty of reasons to stay with Apple. In order to save you from writing and other "bulletproof arguments", I would like to note that I am certainly more familiar with IT than you and, apart from Apple, I have many years of practical experience with almost all available platforms, HW and SW... ;)
I just wanted to say that a person who has an iPhone, an iPad, and perhaps an Apple TV and also has an old MacBook would have a hard time buying a Windows computer, even if it were better, prettier, more powerful, and had all the ports imaginable. Otherwise, the new MacBook Pro seems fine to me. I wouldn't miss any ports on it.
I think Apple missed a bit of a chance to push TB3. From what I read, many people did not understand the interface. They deal with dongles and reductions... In my opinion, Apple here reprehensibly threw away the chance to introduce a new monitor to users that would also serve as a docking station for computers equipped with TB3. Imagine you have one cable and it goes out, everything is there, data, image, internet and power. But most of all, TB3 already handles PCIe, so you can connect external desktop graphics (for example, nvidia1080 and not the shit from AMD that are in new macbooks) and increase performance many times over. Check out Razer's Core http://www.razerzone.com/gaming-systems/razer-blade-stealth#ultrabook-desktop this is the future Apple should have spent more time on TB3 and promoted it better because many people simply don't realize its potential and see it only as a replacement for USB.
only this is exactly what USB-C is supposed to solve (ok, even for potential external graphics)
so the replacement for TB3 is at least zero again.
– demented discussion
No, it doesn't because the speed of USB 3.1 is only 10 Gbps, i.e. 1/4 compared to TB3
and how exactly do you know it* until you require pcie functionality after usb-c?
No, sure, we both mean it right. Apple is just, again, making us a bit of a cretin. Should we be surprised? Probably not.
Otherwise, if they did what you write (and that it would make damn sense), then it would all be apple-only and expensive as hell.
*I understand that there would suddenly be a dozen or so random users who absolutely need 40Gbps for all usb flash drives and 12k 100″ plasma monitors on the wall.
but this is exactly what USB-C is supposed to solve
so the replacement for TB3 is at least zero again.