This article is another disaster. USB 4 does not necessarily mean 40 Gbps. That is the max speed but it does not have to be supported for devices to be compliant. This also means that the new name does NOTHING to take away confusion.
This article is another disaster. USB 4 does not necessarily mean 40 Gbps. That is the max speed but it does not have to be supported for devices to be compliant. This also means that the new name does NOTHING to take away confusion.
As the article states (and this is not controversial), USB4 largely adds 40Gbps Thunderbolt 3 to the USB spec.
You might think of it as being similar to how Wibree, once a competing wireless peripheral technology to Bluetooth, was folded into the Bluetooth spec to deliver BTLE.
The news here is that Apple is now implementing its own controllers capable of TB3 right on the SoC, thanks to Intel's donation to the USB spec. I initially saw comments saying that M1 had implemented this before Tiger Lake, but as I noted in a correction, there are PCs shipping with TL chipsets and USB4 since Oct.
USB4 isn't such a big deal on PCs that ship with Intel chips, as PC makers could already ship TB3 with Intel chips. For Apple to implement this on their own silicon is noteworthy, even if M1 Macs arrived a month later. Without the new USB4 spec including TB3, Apple could not have shipped TB3 on M1, as the A12Z indicated.
From your comment, it seems you are actually upset with the marketing of the USB group; I can't help you there.
There does not appear to be any USB4 peripherals available yet, but M1 Macs can reach 40Gbps with existing TB3 products, which are broadly available. Companies making 40Gbps serial products will no doubt work to make them compatible with TB3 Macs (both Intel and M1) as the majority of high end PCs sold are Macs.
“ Note: the original version of this article incorrectly stated that Apple had brought USB4 to market ahead of Intel; a correction by Ryan Smith of AnandTech noted that some PCs have already shipped with Intel's TL chips. Smith stated that Dell began delivery of systems supporting USB4 in the first week of October.”
I’m not Ryan Smith, so I’m not sure why you credited him, but you’re welcome for pointing it out.
Took me literally 5 minutes of Googling. I’m available if you guys are hiring an editor. Seems like you need one.
1. USB4 does not "add 40Gbps Thunderbolt 3". It adds the 40 Gbps speed but it's a different protocol. Also, 40 Gbps is not mandatory for USB4. 2. How do you know that Apple "is now implementing its own controllers"? I see no evidence for that. 3. I also do not see anywhere that the TB3 controller is integrated on the SoC.
Like you say, I don't know if this makes any difference in practice because there are no USB4 peripherals yet and you do get 40 Gbps on TB3. But I think there are a few assumptions here that are not yet confirmed. Or denied.
Ok, the teardowns have been done! And, apparently, the Thunderbolt controller *is* part of the SoC, so my suspicion was wrong. Sorry. The part they found on the motherboard is an "Intel JHL8040R Thunderbolt 4 Retimer". That is a dumb extender, not a controller. Intel calls it Thunderbolt 4 but the part was already available in Q3'19 at which point Thunderbolt 4 hadn't even been mentioned. TB3/4 are simply compatible enough electrically for the extender to be the same.
Why Apple hasn't integrated a TB4 controller, or why they can't call it that, is probably because of the development time of the new chip. Full TB4 specs weren't available until the summer.
Ok, the teardowns have been done! And, apparently, the Thunderbolt controller *is* part of the SoC, so my suspicion was wrong. Sorry. The part they found on the motherboard is an "Intel JHL8040R Thunderbolt 4 Retimer". That is a dumb extender, not a controller. Intel calls it Thunderbolt 4 but the part was already available in Q3'19 at which point Thunderbolt 4 hadn't even been mentioned. TB3/4 are simply compatible enough electrically for the extender to be the same.
Why Apple hasn't integrated a TB4 controller, or why they can't call it that, is probably because of the development time of the new chip. Full TB4 specs weren't available until the summer.
I think TB4 mandates some things that the M1 doesn't supply. I haven't researched this but I think it requires dual 4K monitor support for example. The M1 only can do a single 4K-6K display.
"M1 Macs with support for both the refreshed new USB4 and compatibility with existing the Thunderbolt 3 devices that Mac users already have" except external GPUs or anyone that uses more than 2 displays.
These devices are NOT pro devices. These are consumer devices. GPUs? 3+ displays? For an entry level/low cost device?
Get a grip. Don’t let the eye popping benchmarks fool you, these are not the Apple Si pro machines you are looking for because they are NOT pro machines. (I know the 13 incher says pro, but let’s not let marketing sidetrack the discussion) Wait till Apple releases a 16inch MBP or Mac Pro that has limitations that matter to pros to complain about that.
Oh, come on! “Pro” is just a marketing term. There is no such thing like a pro machine or a non-pro machine. Complete marvels have been created on very simple machines, and vice versa there have been tons of users doing virtually nothing with high-end spec machines except playing a few games.
The computer is simply a tool to get a job done.
The M1 seems to be really really revolutionary at some type of jobs, and is clearly is more average for other jobs. Performance wise, whether it does get the job done in 10 seconds or 5 doesn’t really say anything if it’s not placed in context of someone’s “job”. A video editor may be super happy with the M1, but a gamer may not. It’s all context.
What is “not pro” to you, may be “pro” to someone else, as long as the tool gets the job done efficiently.
“ Note: the original version of this article incorrectly stated that Apple had brought USB4 to market ahead of Intel; a correction by Ryan Smith of AnandTech noted that some PCs have already shipped with Intel's TL chips. Smith stated that Dell began delivery of systems supporting USB4 in the first week of October.”
I’m not Ryan Smith, so I’m not sure why you credited him, but you’re welcome for pointing it out.
Took me literally 5 minutes of Googling. I’m available if you guys are hiring an editor. Seems like you need one.
Comments
It says so right there on the spec sheets: "USB 3.1 Gen 2 (up to 10Gb/s)" on all three of https://www.apple.com/mac-mini/specs/ and https://www.apple.com/macbook-air/specs/ and https://www.apple.com/macbook-pro-13/specs/
USB4 isn't such a big deal on PCs that ship with Intel chips, as PC makers could already ship TB3 with Intel chips. For Apple to implement this on their own silicon is noteworthy, even if M1 Macs arrived a month later. Without the new USB4 spec including TB3, Apple could not have shipped TB3 on M1, as the A12Z indicated.
From your comment, it seems you are actually upset with the marketing of the USB group; I can't help you there.
Took me literally 5 minutes of Googling. I’m available if you guys are hiring an editor. Seems like you need one.
2. How do you know that Apple "is now implementing its own controllers"? I see no evidence for that.
3. I also do not see anywhere that the TB3 controller is integrated on the SoC.
Like you say, I don't know if this makes any difference in practice because there are no USB4 peripherals yet and you do get 40 Gbps on TB3. But I think there are a few assumptions here that are not yet confirmed. Or denied.
Why Apple hasn't integrated a TB4 controller, or why they can't call it that, is probably because of the development time of the new chip. Full TB4 specs weren't available until the summer.
Complete marvels have been created on very simple machines, and vice versa there have been tons of users doing virtually nothing with high-end spec machines except playing a few games.
A video editor may be super happy with the M1, but a gamer may not. It’s all context.