What does that enable?
One often overlooked superpower is daisy-chaining. With USB, if you want three external drives, you need three ports on your computer (or a hub). With Thunderbolt, you plug Drive A into the computer, Drive B into Drive A, and Drive C into Drive B. The computer sees all three without a hub. This is possible because every Thunderbolt device (except the last in the chain) has two ports: one for input, one for output. Thunderbolt
The future is likely a convergence. Intel has stated that Thunderbolt 4 was the basis for USB4. Going forward, Thunderbolt will likely remain the "Pro" certification tier, while USB4 will be the consumer tier that optionally supports high speeds. What does that enable
Then came Thunderbolt. But not just the Thunderbolt of 2011—the mature, almost magical iteration we see today. In the world of connectivity, Thunderbolt has evolved from a niche, expensive luxury for Mac users into the closest thing the tech industry has to a universal port. With Thunderbolt, you plug Drive A into the
This is the most common point of confusion for consumers. If the plug looks the same, why do prices vary from $10 to $300?