Leak Reveals Major Improvements, New Connector for Next Generation Thunderbolt

Specifications for the next generation Intel Thunderbolt Controller (Alpine Ridge) have leaked online via vr-zone.com.

According to the leaked slide, the controller features a new design that doubles bandwidth from 20Gbps to 40Gbps. There are four modes: TBT, DP 1.2, USB3.0, and HDMI 2.0 via LASPCon. Power is reduced by 50% and there will be support for PCI-e gen3.

Notably, a new Thunderbolt connector will enable system charging (up to 100W) and facilitate the increase in bandwidth. The connector features a lower z-height of 3mm and will work with adapters for backward compatibility.


Last year, the Intel announced Thunderbolt 2 in April and Apple began offering it in Macs by October. No word yet on when we will see the third generation of Thunderbolt.

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Read More [via MacRumors]