While Thunderbolt 3 is fully in force since 2015, offering speeds of up to 40 Gbps (the second version reached figures of up to 20 Gbps), based on the USB 3.1 specification and using the reversible USB-C connector, at the beginning of this year we knew that Intel was working on the development of what will be the future Thunderbolt 4 .
We must remember that, originally, Thunderbolt went on to become a very fast connectivity developed jointly by the teams of Intel and Apple , reaching the first version speeds of up to 10 Gbps of data throughput. Not surprisingly, Thunderbolt 1 was officially introduced to the market in 2011, when USB 3.0 connectivity was in vogue (it reached speeds of up to 5 Gbps). And he did it hand in hand with the 2011 MacBook Pro using the Mini DisplayPort connector.
Two years later, specifically in 2013, Apple launched a team with the second version of this connectivity (Thunderbolt 2), reaching in that case a transfer speed of up to 20 Gbps. Thus, finally, in 2015 the Macbook Pro, Macbook Air, Mac Pro, Mac Mini and iMac with Retina 5K screen were launched with this port, although the MacBook presented in March of that same year came with a new USB-C port, based on in the USB 3.1 specification, and that it reached 40 Gbps.
Since then, Thunderbolt 3 has become the go-to connectivity for the brand. Until in a few months the most foreseeable thing is that, officially, the fourth version will hit the market. What’s new and what new possibilities do we find in it?
What is Thunderbolt 4?
As with Thunderbolt 3, Thunderbolt 4 is characterized primarily by using a USB-C connector to transfer data, video, and power through a single connection. Like the previous version, it supports 40 Gb / s data transfer, and it is possible to use with three ports in order to share bandwidth. As you can imagine, it will continue to use the same USB-C port, and in addition, it will not only be compatible with USB-C, but it will also be compatible with USB 4 .
Of course, to comply with the new Thunderbolt 4 standard, manufacturers must meet a series of requirements that we mention below:
- 32 Gbps PCIe for storage speeds of up to 3000 Mbps.
- It must support two 4K displays or one 8K display.
- Provide support for docks with up to four Thunderbolt 4 ports.
- One of the ports must be suitable for charging a computer.
- Have the ability to wake the computer from sleep by touching the keyboard or mouse when connected to a Thunderbolt dock.
- Direct memory access (DMA) protection, based on Intel VT-d, is required which would help prevent physical DMA attacks.
Regarding connectivity, from the beginning Intel’s mobile device processors, codenamed “Tiger Lake,” will be the first to have Thunderbolt 4 integrated, in addition to the Thunderbolt 4 8000 Series controller.
And what about Apple?
In June of this year we learned that Apple was announcing that it was moving away from Intel to develop chip sets in future Macs, planning in turn to launch devices with custom-designed ARM chips.
Despite this, we must bear in mind that the company claims to be committed to the Thunderbolt 4 protocol, which does not need or require Intel chips to function. In that statement, Apple indicated that, for more than a decade, it had partnered with Intel to design and develop this connectivity. And, it seems, they remain committed to the future of Thunderbolt.
We must bear in mind that Thunderbolt support, at least so far, has never been extended beyond the Mac line developed by Apple. Furthermore, to date, USB-C connectors on iPads, to give just one example, are not compatible with Thunderbolt 3. Therefore, it is unknown if this omission will continue on future iPads with Thunderbolt 4 .
In addition, in the month of July we knew that Apple Silicon would come with support for this new version, so it is quite predictable that in the next year we will already have the first products that come with this new connectivity.
