Thunderbolt™ 3 uses a USB Type-C connector/port to connect to supported peripherals. Do you know what it is? For the first time, there's a hub that takes a single Thunderbolt 4 port and turns it into multiple Thunderbolt ports. Not every watchband will go with that color, however, so here are some of our favorites to go with that deep blue shade. To tell the difference, Thunderbolt 3 ports, cables, and gear are typically labeled with an arrow-shaped like a lightning bolt. When using USB, the Thunderbolt 3 port is limited to the USB speeds of the connected device, not the blazing fast speeds of Thunderbolt. 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. Thunderbolt 3 certified The above article may contain affiliate links, which help support How-To Geek. If you guessed the Thunderbolt 3 or USB 3.1 port, you’re right, and therein lies the problem. Zagg is trying to bring some elements of the Magic Keyboard to the masses with a "pro" keyboard that comes in under $100. Intel’s Thunderbolt protocol is merging into USB4. I would like to receive mail from Future partners. Save an insane 73% on a new IPVanish subscription for a limited time. For starters, it's likely future Intel Macs will use chips that support Thunderbolt 4 and even if they don't, there's always Apple silicon down the line.
- USB 2.0: Up to 480 Mbps

You can connect and charge nearly anything via this compact hub through a single port on your Thunderbolt 4 equipped PC. It’s much faster than current maximum speeds for USB. Feature - Ethernet: Up to 2G bps by Full-Duplex, Power Source: USB bus-powered Thunderbolt and Thunderbolt 2 are not the same as Mini DisplayPort . No spam, we promise. You can also connect up to two 4K displays at 60Hz over DisplayPort. - 1x 4-pin, USB 2.0, Type-A, Female With Thunderbolt 3, you can also daisy chain up to six additional devices to your source machine. Thunderbolt 3 is a proprietary (for now) data and video transfer protocol developed by Intel. © 2020 Intel Corporation. Performance will vary depending on the specific hardware and software used. 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. It’s not clear if Intel plans on updating Thunderbolt to version 4, but the future for Thunderbolt 3 is very clear. Compliant with USB 3.0 specification and backward compatible with USB 2.0 and 1.1, Maximum Data Transfer Rate:
Join 250,000 subscribers and get a daily digest of news, comics, trivia, reviews, and more. Just, you know. Ignore all that PC stuff. - USB 3.0: Up to 5 Gbps If you're using a Thunderbolt or Thunderbolt 2 cable with a Thunderbolt display or other device, use the Apple Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter. Since we launched in 2006, our articles have been read more than 1 billion times. It can be challenging to understand the differences between the two ports and whether your laptop is packing one or the other. The store, which has been temporarily closed since March, has already been under review for closure for some time according to Apple. Both data transfer protocols use the same connector, but their potential uses vary. Accessories with past, present or future USB or Thunderbolt interfaces — all connect to the OWC Thunderbolt Hub. It takes a single Thunderbolt port and turns it into three.

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- 1x 9-pin, USB 3.0, Type-A, Female 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. All Rights Reserved. Enables dual 4K HDMI displays up to 4096x2160 @60Hz & 3840x2160p @60Hz resolution Oh, and a USB-A port as well. Thunderbolt speeds don’t just mean you can transfer a two-hour 4K video to an external drive that much faster. That is only one-quarter of the maximum speed of Thunderbolt 3, which has a maximum capability of 40 Gbps. Plug-n-play, no driver installation, Specification Released on July 26, 2013, USB 3.1 doubles the speed of USB 3.0 to 10Gbps (now called SuperSpeed+ or SuperSpeed USB 10 Gbps), making it as fast as the original Thunderbolt standard. The new OWC Thunderbolt Hub might be designed for PCs with Thunderbolt 4 ports, but there are plenty of reasons to pay attention to it in the Mac world. *Trademarks | Companies can create devices that are just as capable as Thunderbolt 3 without the licensing issues from Intel. PCIe support allows gamers to turn a laptop without much in the way of graphics support into a pretty good gaming machine. That all sounds pretty stellar and you can pre-order a fancy new OWC Thunderbolt Hub direct right now. - 1x 8P8C, Gigabit Ethernet LAN, Environmental conditions: Both Thunderbolt 3 and USB 3.1 use the USB Type-C connector and port.

This means you plug device A into the Thunderbolt 3 port on your laptop, and then you connect device A to device B and so on. External docking station adds two HDMI, USB 2.0/3.0 and Gigabit Ethernet connectivity to your Thunderbolt 3 enabled laptop The trick is that computer makers have to support this feature in their laptops as support for PCIe graphics cards is not automatic. Compliant with USB 3.0 specification and backward compatible with USB 2.0 and 1.1 Save big on these VPN services ahead of Black Friday. Ian Paul is a freelance writer with over a decade of experiencing writing about tech. If it’s Thunderbolt 3 the lightning bolt appears as you see above. 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. And with the integration of USB-C, convenience is added to the speed of Thunderbolt to create a truly universal port. - Operating temperature: 32 to 104 degrees F VPN Deal! How-To Geek is where you turn when you want experts to explain technology. You can unsubscribe at any time and we'll never share your details without your permission. Delivering twice the bandwidth of Thunderbolt 2, it consolidates data transfer, video output, and charging into a single compact connector. Thunderbolt 3 port supports data transfer speeds up to 40Gbps and daisy chaining for Thunderbolt devices Both Thunderbolt 3 and USB 3.1 use the USB Type-C connector and port. Newer laptops often come loaded with a port that accepts a reversible plug and supports very fast transfer speeds. This is the correct adapter for the Apple Thunderbolt Display. That’s too bad because Thunderbolt 3 is incredibly fast. Some pre-built desktops support Thunderbolt 3, but typically you need to buy an expansion card to add Thunderbolt 3 to a Windows desktop.

By submitting your email, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Network connectivity through embedded 10/100/1000 BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet port Country of origin: China. And anyway, who doesn't get excited about new hubs like this? Legal | - 2x 19-pin HDMI, Type A, Female, Output

Supporting Thunderbolt 3 is an option with USB4, which is great news for older devices, but there’s little reason to create new Thunderbolt 3 devices when USB4 is available. The possibilities are insane. USB ports can also have lightning bolts, but these signify that the USB port is capable of charging small items such as smartphones even when the laptop is turned off. Warranty: 2 years limited If you use a USB 3.1 device as Device C, for example, then the daisy chain stops at that point. Once USB4 devices start rolling out, we expect that Thunderbolt 3 will eventually disappear. The easiest way to make sure you get Thunderbolt 3 is to buy a Mac. There's a single USB-A port for those people who need it. Oh, and a USB-A port as well. 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. Adds USB 2.0/3.0 to connect to various USB devices simultaneously 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 - Relative humidity: 5% to 95% RH (non-condensing), Certifications/Standards: FCC, CE, RoHS Once you understand the difference, however, it’s easy to figure out which port is which and how to use them.