Thunderbolt 3 VS Thunderbolt 4: What's Different?

Thunderbolt 3 and Thunderbolt 4 looks the same and even supports the same 40Gbps of data -- so what's the difference? I walk you through how Thunderbolt 4 is superior than Thunderbolt 3!

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[chumbawumba]

You really missed the mark on explaining the primary difference betweenTB3 and TB4. For  users, the two are basically interchangeable (other than the minor spec diffs) because  decided to implement the full TB3 spec in all of its hardware where TB was present. BUT FOR WINDOWS USERS ... the differences are huge. in the era of TB3, windows systems were all over the place. Some PCs that claimed to support TB3 didnt even have the hardware on board (so called TB3-compatible systems). Other windows systems might have included some TB3 features, but with many others missing. Net net, windows machines claiming TB3 might provide some but not all of the TB3 features. With TB4 that changes completely. If a windows system claims TB4 support, by def it must do everything and include all hw. That is the REAL difference between TB3 and TB4. Everything else is a bonus to  users.

[Elfig]

Good video but a flowchart or graphics presentation would be better.

[edcgadgets-de]

Then you have the new usb-c plug spec to think of. For example, usb-c was limited to 100W power delivery, now apple adopted the new 2.1 plug to make the 140W PSU that ships with the 16” MBP possible.

[JustChillingOut]

⚠️ Thunderbolt 4 is a must have for those of us who will be streaming dozens of audio tracks and MIDI tracks simultaneously. I typically reach 40 to 60 tracks within the first couple hours of production. This is extremely important for streaming massive sound libraries from your external SSD to run DAW. (Digital audio workstation) such as Apple’s Logic Pro X working in tandem with East West Opus Diamond sound library, which is a 994 gig sound library.

No mention if a thunderbolt three SSD will work on Thunderbolt four properly as it’s real hard right now to find a wide variety a thunderbolt four supported SSD. You might want to make another video that addresses this highly important issue.

Thanks in advance! 🥸

[PeterEmery]

Two years on brings a bit of a change with the M3 laptops: they still only have Thunderbolt 3 but can support two external displays – provided the lid is closed.

[dnhYT]

is thunderbolt 3 forward compatible with thunderbolt 4?

[JohnWallace]

I have looked on-line and you can’t find any Thunderbolt 4 docks in stock anywhere that have all the multiple ports.. they are all sold out.

[bvill]

If I use thunderbolt 3 from an M1 MacBook Pro to an Apple studio display… your saying it’s the same performance as a TB4? Unless in adding more monitors correct?

[brentsmithline]

Since Apple has ThunderBolt 4 controllers built into M series SOC processors you would think they would be able to build them into A series SOC processors. If so the Apple iPhone 15 could have a ThunderBolt 4 port on it with data transfer rate of 40 Gbits.

That ThunderBolt 4 port would be backwards compatible with all previous ThunderBolt, and USB devices.

[DanteKnox]

does it matter which one I use if I'm just going to be watching YouTube videos on my laptop?

[pocket]

Can I use a Thunderbolt 2 device into my new Thunderbolt Mac Studio?

[MisterMister]

I've been looking at a NAS / DAS recently as my storage needs is scaling. NOTHING in the low - to medium price range has TB 4 ports. Heck, most are only kicking around TB 3 and USB 3.1 1st Gen (5Gbps). You really have to spend a little bit more to get the fastest specs.

[shelleymusicpublishers]

I have a M1 Mac mini and an M2 Mac mini...can I share files between the two using Th.3/Th.4 cable? Or is it only for a display cable? Also....can I use Th. 3 on both ends...or Th.4 on both ends. Or must it be one cable with both 3 & 4 on it.?

[edwardrichardson]

Andrew, where did you get that King of Hearts (aka Suicide King) canvas wall art? Thx!

[gabyisabellegelinas]

So I have a question for you: the MacBook Pro 13 only has 2 Thunderbolt 4 ports. Nothing else, no USB, no HDMI, no nothing. I am told by Apple that I cannot connect two external monitors to this MacBook. If I understand you correctly, their info isn’t accurate and I should be able to connect two external monitors on each Thunderbolt 4 port? Or use a docking station to do so? Either way, I COULD connect two external monitors, right?

[ddempsey]

I own a LG 24MD4KL-B 24 Inch Ultrafine UHD (3840 x 2160) IPS Monitor, P3 Wide Color Gamut 500 nits Brightness, Thunderbolt 3 (x2), USB-C Ports (x3) and I plan on purchasing a mac mini m2 (which has 2 thunderbolt 4 ports). the cable to my thunderport 3 monitor stopped working and needs to be replaced. Would there be any benefits of purchasing a thunderport 4 cable if I plan on using it with a thunderport 3 monitor?

[officialovercoming]

Dear Sir, I need help and you appear to be HIGHLY HIGHLY skilled in this area. I am in the process of purchasing a dock for my gaming laptop. I am a PC Gamer who works a lot and is always on the go, ergo, I went the gaming laptop route. I wish to having a docking station at home so I can plug in all my peripherals and an external monitor so that when I get home, I just plug in my laptop to the dock and i'm good to go. As far as my setup goes, I plan to use a Dell 27-inch 1080P 144hz gaming monitor (just one), a keyboard, mouse, ethernet, and some speakers. Will a USB-C dock be enough? Or do I need to go the thunderbolt route? Do i connect the monitor to the dock using displayport or hdmi?

[luisrosas]

Hi Andrew, what is a good thunderbolt dock box for 4 devices, in my case it will be 4 monitors, each one working on something different!

Thanks a lot for all your help!!

[jackedkerouac]

My new audio interface is thunderbolt 3 and my macbook pro is 4. There should be no issue if I go ahead and use a thunderbolt 4 cable right? Also is it better for me to plug the audio interface directly into my laptop or better to use a hub?

[PlayVividly]

Hi There I have a tricky question. I have a handheld PC, intel based, and I’m using an EGPU enclosure housing a Nvidia 3090. The handheld PC has 2x thunderbolt 3 ports. So If the egpu is connected to one of the ports and charging the handheld pc, what happens if I use a Thunderbolt 3 dock (like the Caldigit TS3 plus) on the 2nd port? My real question would the EGPU and the TS3 plus dock kill the battery of my handheld pc? Because both the thunderbolt 3 ports are capable of receiving power to charge the battery………. Gut feeling it would overcharge the battery