Current Macs Will Support Optical Thunderbolt Cable

Intel spokesman Dave Salvator says the Thunderbolt ports on current Macs will be compatible with upcoming fiber optic cables, which should be ready by next year, reports MacWorld.

Current, the Apple offered Thunderbolt cable uses copper and can transfer data between devices at 10Gbps.

Circuitry will ensure compatibility of optical cables with existing Thunderbolt ports, Salvator said. Copper cables provide adequate data transfer for use over short distances of up to six meters (about 20 feet), but optical cables will be good for data transfers over longer distances of tens of meters, Salvator said.


It's unclear whether the existing ports will be able to take advantage of the higher throughput provided by the optical cables.

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