What is Thunderbolt? Apple Thunderbolt Guide

Thunderbolt is a hardware interface used to connect external peripherals and can provide video, data and power. First introduced in 2011, Thunderbolt has evolved with each generation, delivering significant improvements in speed and functionality.

Thunderbolt 1

Thunderbolt 1 was first introduced as part of a collaboration between Intel and Apple in 2011, with the release of the MacBook Pro (Early 2011) models. The port was based on the Mini DisplayPort interface and was unique in that it allowed for the transfer of data, display output and power through a single cable.

Thunderbolt 1 carries data at a transfer speed of 10Gbps (compared to USB 3.0's 5Gbps) and supports display output of up to 2560x1600 at 60Hz. Up to six devices can be daisy chained from a single port.

List of Apple Devices with Thunderbolt 1

Thunderbolt 2

Intel announced the Thunderbolt 2 in June 2013, using the same Mini DisplayPort interface as Thunderbolt 1. The difference between the two was the increase of transfer speed from 10Gbps in the Thunderbolt 1 to 20Gbps in the Thunderbolt 2 and the ability to support a display up to 4K at 60Hz. The port was also backwards compatible, allowing for the use of both connectors and cables that were compatible with the older Thunderbolt 1.

List of Apple Devices with Thunderbolt 2

Thunderbolt 3

Thunderbolt 3 was released in 2015 and saw a change in interface, now utilising the commonly adopted USB-C interface port. Performance increased now delivering 40Gbps of transfer speed, supporting two displays up to 4k at 60Hz and supplying power up to 100W for charging devices. For some devices, this removed the need for a separate power supply. It provided four times the amount of data transfer and twice the video bandwidth of any other cable at the time of its release.

Backwards compatibility with Thunderbolt 1 and 2 is possible with the use of an adapter.

List of Apple Devices with Thunderbolt 3

Thunderbolt 4

Thunderbolt 4 was released in July 2020, and shares a lot of the same features as Thunderbolt 3. It provides the same level of data transfer speed at 40Gbps and power delivery at 140W.

The minimum bandwidth available for data transfer has increased to 32Gbps compared to Thunderbolt 3 at 16Gbps. Display output capability is increased to allow for up to 8K monitors. Backwards compatibility was still available with Thunderbolt 3.

List of Apple Devices with Thunderbolt 4

Thunderbolt 5

Thunderbolt 5, launched in 2023, doubles Thunderbolt 4's transfer speed to 80Gbps, with the potential to reach 120Gbps using Bandwidth Boost. In its default mode, Thunderbolt 5 provides up to 80Gbps for each direction of data transfer. When data demands are high, Bandwidth Boost allocates 120Gbps for data transfer and 40Gbps for data receiving.

Thunderbolt 5 supports two 8K monitors at 60Hz or three 4K monitors at 144Hz, with the possibility to support up to 540Hz on a single 1080p display.

Power delivery has been increased to 240W so even the most power hungry devices can be charged.

List of Apple Devices with Thunderbolt 5