This article was published on June 2, 2015

Intel adopts USB-C connector for its Thunderbolt 3 cable, letting you transfer a 4K movie in 30 seconds


Intel adopts USB-C connector for its Thunderbolt 3 cable, letting you transfer a 4K movie in 30 seconds

Intel has announced that it’s developing the super-fast Thunderbolt 3 with the latest USB-C connector. Abandoning its proprietary connector, the new reversible cable reportedly manages speeds of up to 40Gbps.

By comparison, the Thunderbolt 2 cable gets up to 20Gbps, with USB 3.1 capable of 10Gbps and 3.0 capable of only 5Gbps. Apple brought the USB Type-C connector to our attention when it was used in the latest MacBooks.

Screen Shot 2015-06-02 at 11.27.12

So what does that mean to you? Well, it means you can run two 4k monitors at the same time or transfer a 4k movie in less than 30 seconds. The new cable also allows you to daisy-chain computers together if you want to have a small workgroup working off one CPU.

Screen Shot 2015-06-02 at 11.27.33

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Intel is offering a few different versions of the Thunderbolt 3 cable – a 20Gbps copper cable that supports USB 3.1, DisplayPort 1.2 and 20Gbps Thunderbolt, and an active 40Gbps copper cable version as well. Intel is also working on a 40Gbps Optical Fibre cable as well for expected release in 2016.

The first products with Thunderbolt 3 are due to ship before the end of this year, according to Intel.

➤ Thunderbolt™ 3 – The USB-C That Does It All [Intel]

Read next: One cable to rule them all: Everything you should know about the new MacBook’s USB-C port

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