Apple has confirmed that it has turned its back on Intel as far as the CPUs for the Mac are concerned, but it turns out a little bit of Intel inside will remain in the Macs of the future.
Macs will continue to offer Thunderbolt, a standard that Apple and Intel developed and defined together. Thunderbolt ports on Macs also support USB C which uses the same connection. However, it should be noted that the USB-C socket on the iPad Pro does not support Thunderbolt.
An Apple spokesman told The Verge: “Over a decade ago, Apple partnered with Intel to design and develop Thunderbolt, and today our customers enjoy the speed and flexibility it brings to every Mac. We remain committed to the future of Thunderbolt and will support it in Macs with Apple Silicon.”
What we don’t know is whether Apple’s new Macs will support Thunderbolt 4, the upcoming standard that Intel has announced, which will also use the USB-C port. Thunderbolt 4 won’t be faster, but it will support high video and data requirements and multi-port hubs.
Read about Apple’s plans for a Mac powered by Apple Silicon here.
We also have all the rumours about the first Apple Silicon-powered Mac here.
Translated from the original story on Macwelt by Karen Haslam.
Via MACWORLD