3 ms·

Am I reading it correctly that USB-C ports on new M1 Macs are not TB? That comes as a big surprise to me.

stephenr 5y ago
.. for the most part they are still Thunderbolt. The original M1 Macs (laptops + mini) have 2 Thunderbolt3/USB4 ports. The M1 iMac also has two Thunderbolt3/USB4 ports, but also some models have an additional two USB3.x USB-C ports. The M1Pro/Max MBP's just released have three Thunderbolt 4/USB4 ports. I'm not sure if my post is what confused you, but when I said "removed TB port" I was referring to the drop from four TB3 ports for the last five years, to three TB4 ports on the new models.
- strogonoff 5y ago
  Ah, I might have not read carefully. The extra ports and slots I personally would likely never use (if I were to get the new MBP), but then I rarely if ever used all four USB-C ports either.
  - breakfastduck 5y ago
    They've added a separate power input through magsafe though. So if like most users the device is plugged in essentially permanently, there's no port lost because only 3 were ever available anyway.
    - stephenr 5y ago
      I have to assume the people who make this comment have never used TB3 devices. Most TB3 monitors, docks, drive bays, eGPUs etc provide power to the laptop. So while some people maybe don't make use of that capability, it's completely inaccurate to say "there's no port loss". I'd wager that those of us using all four ports already are predominantly using all four for data or video in some way, with one also providing power, rather than one dedicated to power and only three for data/video.
      - itsananderson 5y ago
        I used power delivery from my Dell monitor for the last year, but occasionally under heavy workloads it couldn't keep up and my battery would slowly drain. I may have had something misconfigured, but if so I never figured out what it was. Between Yubikey, Ethernet, and two external monitors, I didn't have much choice. I finally gave up and bought a Thunderbolt dock that actually delivers enough power while also providing expanded port capabilities.
      - breakfastduck 5y ago
        Point taken but ignorant first line. I'd say this is the minority, for sure. You seem to think the other way around (everyone using a power delivery dock), but that's fine.
        stephenr 5y ago
        No, not necessarily a PD 'dock'. A goodly number of TB3 devices provide power. If it's got it's own AC power it generally also provides power back to the host machine.
      - whywhywhywhy 5y ago
        >Most TB3 monitors .... provide power to the laptop In the 4-5 years I've been using this laptop in many offices I've yet to encounter a single monitor that delivers on this promise and I think the entire team in my company apart from my uses janky USB-C to HDMI dongles. I've used USB-C to display port in the hopes of reducing jankiness. The USB-C one cable for monitor/power (that works consistently) dream never materialized, let it go Apple has.
        SahAssar 5y ago
        I'm suprised to hear this since that's how I've been using my laptop (XPS running linux) with multiple monitors for the past 3ish years. I had issues with one monitor though, but I strongly suspect that is just a lemon since the same cable/computer combo works fine with other monitors of the same model and manufacturing year. I expect to be able to use one cable for display, power and peripherals these days.

.. for the most part they are still Thunderbolt. The original M1 Macs (laptops + mini) have 2 Thunderbolt3/USB4 ports. The M1 iMac also has two Thunderbolt3/USB4 ports, but also some models have an additional two USB3.x USB-C ports. The M1Pro/Max MBP's just released have three Thunderbolt 4/USB4 ports. I'm not sure if my post is what confused you, but when I said "removed TB port" I was referring to the drop from four TB3 ports for the last five years, to three TB4 ports on the new models.

strogonoff 5y ago
Ah, I might have not read carefully. The extra ports and slots I personally would likely never use (if I were to get the new MBP), but then I rarely if ever used all four USB-C ports either.
- breakfastduck 5y ago
  They've added a separate power input through magsafe though. So if like most users the device is plugged in essentially permanently, there's no port lost because only 3 were ever available anyway.
  - stephenr 5y ago
    I have to assume the people who make this comment have never used TB3 devices. Most TB3 monitors, docks, drive bays, eGPUs etc provide power to the laptop. So while some people maybe don't make use of that capability, it's completely inaccurate to say "there's no port loss". I'd wager that those of us using all four ports already are predominantly using all four for data or video in some way, with one also providing power, rather than one dedicated to power and only three for data/video.
    - itsananderson 5y ago
      I used power delivery from my Dell monitor for the last year, but occasionally under heavy workloads it couldn't keep up and my battery would slowly drain. I may have had something misconfigured, but if so I never figured out what it was. Between Yubikey, Ethernet, and two external monitors, I didn't have much choice. I finally gave up and bought a Thunderbolt dock that actually delivers enough power while also providing expanded port capabilities.
    - breakfastduck 5y ago
      Point taken but ignorant first line. I'd say this is the minority, for sure. You seem to think the other way around (everyone using a power delivery dock), but that's fine.
      - stephenr 5y ago
        No, not necessarily a PD 'dock'. A goodly number of TB3 devices provide power. If it's got it's own AC power it generally also provides power back to the host machine.
    - whywhywhywhy 5y ago
      >Most TB3 monitors .... provide power to the laptop In the 4-5 years I've been using this laptop in many offices I've yet to encounter a single monitor that delivers on this promise and I think the entire team in my company apart from my uses janky USB-C to HDMI dongles. I've used USB-C to display port in the hopes of reducing jankiness. The USB-C one cable for monitor/power (that works consistently) dream never materialized, let it go Apple has.
      - SahAssar 5y ago
        I'm suprised to hear this since that's how I've been using my laptop (XPS running linux) with multiple monitors for the past 3ish years. I had issues with one monitor though, but I strongly suspect that is just a lemon since the same cable/computer combo works fine with other monitors of the same model and manufacturing year. I expect to be able to use one cable for display, power and peripherals these days.