Apple is reportedly arming its upcoming iPad Pro with Thunderbolt port

Authored by pocketnow.com and submitted by karatekid430
image for Apple is reportedly arming its upcoming iPad Pro with Thunderbolt port

A host of new Apple devices – including iPad Pro, iPad Mini and the AirTags object tracker – are rumored to debut in April. Of course, the hype and speculations are everywhere, especially around the upcoming iPad Pro refresh and the upgrades it will bring to the table, with two of the key changes being a Mini-LED display and mmWave 5G support. But there might be another huge surprise. As per a Bloomberg report, we might see a Thunderbolt port on Apple’s upcoming iPad Pro models. Here’s what it says:

“In testing, the new iPad Pros have used a Thunderbolt connector, the same port on the latest Macs with custom Apple processors. The port doesn’t require new chargers, but it would enable connectivity with additional external monitors, hard drives and other peripherals. It’s also faster at syncing data than the USB-C technology used in the current models.”

Now, the 2020 iPad Pro employs a USB Type-C port, which actually looks identical to a modern Thunderbolt port, unless you see that ‘lightning’ logo. But there is a key difference. A Thunderbolt port does everything a USB-C port can do, but a LOT faster. Be it charging or data transfer, everything is speedier. Plus, it is tailor-made for driving high-resolution models and transferring heavy video signals.

For example, the Thunderbolt 3 port on the new M1 MacBook Pro allows a theoretical data transfer rate of 40Gb/s. Plus, it can drive up to a 6K external monitor with 60Hz screen refresh rate. If the 2021 iPad Pro refresh indeed comes with a Thunderbolt port, it will be a major boost to its appeal as a serious computing machine.

The A-series chip inside it is reportedly as powerful as the M1 silicon inside the new Macs, so you won’t have to worry about running low on firepower either. However, it is unclear if Apple will give the same treatment to both sizes, or a Thunderbolt port will be exclusive to the larger 12.9-inch model.

thanatossassin on March 18th, 2021 at 16:24 UTC »

I knew Thunderbolt's migration to USB-C was going to confuse everybody and there's total evidence of that here in the comments. So here's a quick breakdown:

Intel created Thunderbolt to get the performance of PCIe slots to external devices. USB was too slow and firewire was dying, if not dead already. Intel created the standard, but instead of creating a whole new cable, they used an existing one. They initially wanted to use USB, but it was disallowed, so they went with Mini DisplayPort. That lasted for Thunderbolt version 1 & 2.

Thunderbolt 3 came out and they migrated over to USB-C, ditching DisplayPort. Right now, the only practical way of telling the different between USB-C and Thunderbolt is the little Lightning Bolt Logo next to the USB-C Port.

If you haven't used a Thunderbolt device before, this can all be very confusing. Just understand that there are two different standards using USB-C ports, almost like when USB 2.0 came out and we still had 1.1 devices. But there is hope in the future! USB 4 will be utilizing Thunderbolt 3's standards, so future USB-C ports will all be the same high speed connections and compatible with Thunderbolt 3 devices...

at least until Thunderbolt 4 devices start coming out.

IceQj on March 18th, 2021 at 11:30 UTC »

Reading some of these comments I feel like a lot of people seem to be confusing thunderbolt with lightning port lol.

buckwurst on March 18th, 2021 at 11:16 UTC »

I'm not an Apple user, so don't understand the hype about this. Doesn't it already have USB-C which is pretty much the standard these days?