Thunderbolt 4

The new Thunderbolt interface is less about raw speed than about display connectivity and better device charging. 

Thunderbolt 4 has a number of significant advantages. For starters, it doubles the minimum video and data requirements of Thunderbolt 3. Thunderbolt 4 supports sending a video signal to two 4K displays, or to one 8K display, where Thunderbolt 3 is required to support only a single 4K display. And where Thunderbolt 3 systems have to support only a 16Gbps data rate via PCI Express, Thunderbolt 4 doubles that requirement to 32Gbps. That added bandwidth will certainly be put to good use by anyone who regularly transfers gigantic files of high-resolution video and other large data sets from storage drives to their PC for editing.

Thunderbolt 4 also leads to more capable peripherals. You’ll see Thunderbolt 4 docks and monitors with four Thunderbolt 4 ports, double the two ports, at most, you’ll find on Thunderbolt 3 devices. New thin-and-light laptops that need less than 100 watts to charge have USB Type-C charging on at least one of their Thunderbolt 4 ports. And when a Thunderbolt 4 laptop is connected to a Thunderbolt 4 dock, it must be able to wake from sleep from a connected keyboard or mouse. Thunderbolt 4 cables also support 40Gbps throughput at up to two meters in length, up from the 0.5-meter maximum of a passive Thunderbolt 3 cable.

With the ability to daisy-chain up to six Thunderbolt devices, you have the ability to connect multiple devices without each one needing a direct connection to your computer. Combined with Thunderbolt 4’s greater charging and wake-from-sleep capabilities and longer cables, you’ll have more flexibility in setting up your workspace to make your office less cluttered with wires and your office life a bit easier.

Thunderbolt 4 vs. USB4: The Key Differences

Now, in practical fact, it’s easy to confuse Thunderbolt 4 and USB4. They both use the USB Type-C connector. They both offer a maximum bandwidth of 40Gbps. And Thunderbolt 4 supports USB4, meaning you can connect a USB device to your laptop’s Thunderbolt port. Thunderbolt 4 is also backward compatible with Thunderbolt 3. In both instances, however, the connection will default to the slower speeds of USB4 or Thunderbolt 3.

Thunderbolt 4 is basically a guarantee that you are getting the best version of USB4. While USB4 offers the same 40Gbps speed as Thunderbolt 4, there is also a slower 20Gbps version of USB4. Thunderbolt 4 also guarantees you can run a pair of 4K displays at minimum and transfer data at up to 32Gbps. With USB4, you are guaranteed only the minimums of running a single display and a 16Gbps data rate. A USB4 hub also lacks the mandatory charging and wake-from-sleep requirements of Thunderbolt 4, as well as the 10Gbps networking.

USB4 does have one advantage over Thunderbolt 4: logos that are more informative. With USB4, you should see "USB 20Gbps" and "USB 40Gbps" logos next to USB Type-C ports that will tell which flavor of USB4 you are dealing with. Unfortunately, Intel does not offer such specifics with its Thunderbolt logos. A Thunderbolt logo is a Thunderbolt logo is a lightning bolt, with no way to tell just by glancing at the side of your laptop or your desktop PC's I/O panel whether a port is version 1, 2, 3, or 4 of Thunderbolt. (The connector will tell you if it is Thunderbolt 1 or 2 versus Thunderbolt 3 or 4, but that's all you can assume on sight.) You’ll need to consult your user manual or spec sheet to know which version of Thunderbolt a device offers. (Some Thunderbolt 4 cables might include a “4” next to the Thunderbolt 4 logo, but such specificity is not usually offered on laptops.