What Is a Thunderbolt Port?
Thunderbolt was developed by Intel in collaboration with Apple.
It was originally called “Light Peak” before being renamed to “Thunderbolt.”
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The first commercial product with Thunderbolt was the MacBook Pro in 2011.
It had double the transfer speeds of Thunderbolt 1 (20Gbps).
This allowed it to be able to transfer 4K video files while sharing in 4K on a monitor simultaneously.
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Thunderbolt 3was released in 2016 and finally ditched the Mini DisplayPort connector.
Instead, it switched to USB-C, which was becoming widely used.
Thunderbolt 3 had transfer speeds up to 40Gbps.
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That brings us up to Thunderbolt 4, the latest version at the time of writing.
Thunderbolt 4 is still based around USB-C and can transfer data at up to 40Gbps.
However, with Thunderbolt 4, 40Gbps is an enforced minimum.
Other advantages include support for dual 4K monitors, 32Gb/s PCIe SSD bandwidth speed, and USB4 compliant rating.
Why Use Thunderbolt Over USB?
Thunderbolt’s ability to run multiple devices through a single port is also a benefit.
The daisy chain functionality opened the door for Thunderbolt docks and hubs.
Through a single port, you’re free to easily extend the functionality of a laptop.
As time has gone on, Thunderbolt’s advantages over USB have gotten smaller.
Thunderbolt 4 and USB4 have a lot in common.
The main differences are in the minimum requirements.
However, that hasn’t always been the case—and still isn’t.
As mentioned above, the main differences lie in the minimum requirements.
Thunderbolt also doubles the minimum power requirements of USB4, coming in at 15W.
Another difference is transfer speeds over different lengths of cables.
These lower requirements allow for cheaper USB4 accessories, but it does come at the cost of performance.
So how can you tell the difference?It’s all about icons.
Thunderbolt 4 devices are labeled with a lightning bolt icon and the number 4.
USB4 devices have the standard USB icon along with the number 20 or 40 (for Gbps).
In closing, Thunderbolt is one of many hardware interfaces for connecting devices to computers.
Related:Not All USB-C Cables Are Thunderbolt Cables
