Mike Peterson
Intel on Wednesday announced new details about its upcoming Thunderbolt 4 standard, though compatibility with Apple silicon Macs remains to be seen.
The Thunderbolt 4 standard will be backward compatible with previous Intel ports and cables, and will also be cross-compatible with USB4. Compared to Thunderbolt 3, it'll offer a number of tangible benefits to consumers while retaining the USB-C connector type.
For example, it'll allow for universal cables up to two meters long without needing to resort to active cables that leave out older USB standards. Thunderbolt 4 will also support accessories, such as docks, with up to four Thunderbolt 4 ports. The standard will double the minimum video and data requirements of Thunderbolt 3.
Other features include the ability to wake up a computer from sleep by touching a peripheral connected to a Thunderbolt dock, and protection against physical DMA attacks.
Thunderbolt 4 will debut on Intel's Tiger Lake Processors for laptops later in 2020. Intel will also make new 8000-series controller chips available to computer and accessory makers.
How Apple silicon Macs are going to implement Thunderbolt support is an open question. The Developer Transition Kit — essentially a Mac mini with an A12Z — doesn't come with any Thunderbolt 3 ports, for example.
Intel notes that Thunderbolt 4 requires "Intel VT-d-based direct memory access protection." That suggests that Thunderbolt 4 may require Intel chips or technology to function.
Update: Apple in a statement to AppleInsider said it is committed to the future of Thunderbolt and will support the protocol on Apple silicon Macs.
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29 Comments
As a standard, Thunderbolt in all its iterations is an abject failure for two reasons: No affordable devices supported it and the selection was extremely limited. Thunderbolt was only found on external SSD drives that cost about twice as much as the USB 3 versions and often offered little additional performance. USB on the other hand has been a staggering success. When people purchase a new computer, the first thing they often look for is how many USB C 3.2 ports they offer. It works with everything (including Thunderbolt) and is frequently updated with additional speed/features. The only thing you have to watch out for are shady cables on Amazon (pay a bit extra and buy from a reputable brand). If you really want Thunderbolt, buy an add in card for your Mac Pro.
This news is a nothingburger for Apple? No new functionality in TB4 for Apple devices as far as I can tell:
So, it essentially brings TB capability for PC to Apple Mac levels, almost? 5K monitor support is spotty in the PC world.
I doubt Apple is worried about Thunderbolt 4 right now. It is more likely that they are working on USB4. I'm not seeing much in the list from Intel that Apple hasn't already implemented across their Thunderbolt 3 ports. They don't need Intel VT-d based DMA protection since they already implement DMA protection in the T2. I'm sure Apple has this covered. Anything that was covered by Intel VT-d will be added to Apple Silicon. They aren't going to implement a weaker version of DMA for their own SoCs.
https://support.apple.com/guide/security/dma-protections-seca4960c2b5/1/web/1
I don't understand the concern about whether Apple Silicon Macs will support it? Doesn't this article mention,
Why wouldn't Apple just add the controller chip on their motherboards? (And that goes for TB3 as well.)
People REALLY need to stop assuming the Dev Kit mini is what the new Apple Silicon based Macs will be like.