Apple announced at its annual WWDC conference the transition from Intel processors to its own silicon. Apple has officially confirmed Apple Silicon Macs will be equipped with Thunderbolt and will support Thunderbolt devices.
With the first Mac to feature Apple Silicon coming later this year, many were in doubt whether the new Macs would be compatible with Intel’s Thunderbolt standard and devices.
Apple confirmed users will be able to continue using their favorite Thunderbolt accessories such as external displays, keyboards, mice, and drives that rely on Thunderbolt.
Apple told The Verge, they are committed to maintaining Thunderbolt in the future for its ARM-based Macs.
“Over a decade ago, Apple partnered with Intel to design and develop Thunderbolt, and today our customers enjoy the speed and flexibility it brings to every Mac. We remain committed to the future of Thunderbolt and will support it in Macs with Apple silicon,”
Following Apple’s announcement, Intel announced an update to the Thunderbolt standard with Thunderbolt 4, which will be based on the USB-C connector like its predecessor Thunderbolt 3.
Thunderbolt 4 is the next generation of universal cables delivering increased performance and capabilities of the USB 4 standard. Thunderbolt 4 is capable of powering two 4K displays or one 8K display, docks with up to four Thunderbolt 4 ports, and high powered PC Charging. Intel expects to deliver the new Thunderbolt 4 controllers later this year.
Apple’s transition to its own silicon is expected to be completed in 2022 with the first ARM equipped device to launch later this year.
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