TimSportschuetz

Q: USB-C and Thunderbolt Display Connectivity

I attempted to get a clear answer to my below question by chatting with a few Apple Store reps on the website... Nobody had a clear answer.  Hence, I was told to turn to this forum and pose my question.

 

Will the newly released Macbook which only contains the USB-C connector function with existing Apple Thunderbolt Displays? I currently use my Macbook Pro Retina laptop with the Thunderbolt display and cannot live without this functionality... It is simply too convenient to give up. 

 

Although video and audio may be able to connect to the Thunderbolt Display through adapters, what happens to the Macbook's power supply? Is it possible to have video, audio, AND power flow through the single USB-C connector? Otherwise, the Macbook would only be capable of connecting with the Thunderbolt Display while running off of Batter power.

 

Thanks in advance and I look forward to any categorical responses to the above!

MacBook

Posted on Mar 9, 2015 7:00 PM

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Q: USB-C and Thunderbolt Display Connectivity

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  • by olivierpk,

    olivierpk olivierpk May 18, 2015 6:57 PM in response to TimSportschuetz
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 18, 2015 6:57 PM in response to TimSportschuetz

    What about the HydraDock?

    Do you think it might work?

    http://www.hydradock.com/

  • by Malcolm J. Rayfield,

    Malcolm J. Rayfield Malcolm J. Rayfield May 18, 2015 7:03 PM in response to olivierpk
    Level 5 (7,945 points)
    May 18, 2015 7:03 PM in response to olivierpk

    HydraDock shows Mini DisplayPort and HDMI.  No Thunderbolt.

  • by Julian Waits,

    Julian Waits Julian Waits May 19, 2015 12:54 PM in response to TimSportschuetz
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 19, 2015 12:54 PM in response to TimSportschuetz

    Based upon my research.  There's no way to connect the new USB C MacBook to the TB monitor.  I'm in the same situation as many of you.  I have a MacBook Air 11 inch and would like to use the new MacBook in replace of it.  I don't believe that there's going to be a solution until someone creates a dock that will support USB C, TB, USB A, and potentially Ethernet in one device.  I've seen one such device, that originated on Kickstarter; however, it only supports MDP at the moment.  The perfect solution for me would allow me to use the new MB with my TB monitors.

  • by Phil0124,

    Phil0124 Phil0124 May 19, 2015 1:09 PM in response to Julian Waits
    Level 7 (27,589 points)
    iPhone
    May 19, 2015 1:09 PM in response to Julian Waits

    Any particular reason it has to be the new 12inch Macbook?

    The new MacBook is a very niche device at this time. There are alternatives if you require compatibility with Thunderbolt peripherals.

     

    The New MacBook Airs still feature a full fledged Thunderbolt 2.0 port and can use any Thunderbolt peripherals including TB displays directly.

    The New MacBook Pros also have not one but 2 Thunderbolt 2.0 ports.

     

    Furthermore, the Macbook Air and Pro are considerably more powerful, than the 12inch MacBook in terms of processors and RAM availability.

  • by Julian Waits,

    Julian Waits Julian Waits May 19, 2015 1:23 PM in response to Phil0124
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 19, 2015 1:23 PM in response to Phil0124

    Your point is very salient.  I'm the guy that Apple loves because I seem to have at least one of everything they make.  With that said, I'm not moving from my MB Air until there's a solution for the TB issue.  Additionally, I'm already hearing rumors of a second generation MB in the works.

     

    I'm not in a rush. I store most of my stuff in cloud based services and don't need a huge amount of horsepower cpu/memory to drive the apps that I use the most.  Just like having the new stuff.  Thank you for your response.

     

    Jules

  • by Phil0124,

    Phil0124 Phil0124 May 19, 2015 2:39 PM in response to Julian Waits
    Level 7 (27,589 points)
    iPhone
    May 19, 2015 2:39 PM in response to Julian Waits

    Julian Waits wrote:

     

    Your point is very salient.  I'm the guy that Apple loves because I seem to have at least one of everything they make.  With that said, I'm not moving from my MB Air until there's a solution for the TB issue.  Additionally, I'm already hearing rumors of a second generation MB in the works.

     

    I'm not in a rush. I store most of my stuff in cloud based services and don't need a huge amount of horsepower cpu/memory to drive the apps that I use the most.  Just like having the new stuff.  Thank you for your response.

     

    Jules

    Fair enough.

  • by Stavroche,

    Stavroche Stavroche May 31, 2015 7:46 AM in response to benwiggy
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 31, 2015 7:46 AM in response to benwiggy

    I don't know anyone who would plug a usb 3 speed intensive device in any type of hub let alone a monitor.

     

    Always direct for best performance and minimum fault points.  Now if the systems didn't have usb 3 that would be a problem.

     

    sorry to poster for not contributing to original question but nothing left to be said.

  • by Victor Bottacco,

    Victor Bottacco Victor Bottacco Jun 9, 2015 4:54 AM in response to TimSportschuetz
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 9, 2015 4:54 AM in response to TimSportschuetz

    Right now it is impossible to connect the new MacBook 12" to the ThunderBolt Display. It is not a physical matter (the connector is physically the same as a MiniDisplay Port connector) but a functionality matter. ThunderBolt can carry several different types of signals (PCIe, USB1,2.3, MiniDisplay Port, Ethernet, FireWire) but the host (in this case the MacBook 12") is the one that needs to carry all those signals in the first place so it can support the display, and it is not the case at this time. Over simplifying things a lot, we could say that Display Port is a dumb type of unidirectional signal (from the Mac to the monitor) and ThunderBolt is a bi-directional signal with intelligence built-in. You can connect a dumb peripheral to an intelligent host, but not the opposite, because the host is the one that drives the peripheral.

     

    It did happen the same when ThunderBolt 1 appeared. The latest Macs that had MiniDisplay Port ports, but not ThunderBolt, could not drive the new ThunderBolt Display and they had to use the prior MiniDisplay Port Cinema Display. The connector was physically the same, but not the functionality. The new Macs at the time, with ThunderBolt built in, could drive both types of monitors, the old MiniDisplay Port Cinema Display and the then new ThunderBolt Display.

     

    In the near future ThunderBolt 3 will arrive and it is already announced that it will adopt the same physical connector as USB 3 Type C (the one included in the MacBook 12"). It is fairly plausible that ThunderBolt 3 will be backwards compatible with ThunderBolt 1 and 2, so all type of signals will be supported through it, including USB 3.1 Type C. As both ThunderBolt and USB 3.1 Type C (for short of USB-C) do support Display Port signals, there is hope in the near future to see an adapter that could connect the new MacBook 12" to the ThunderBolt Display, but I would not hold my breath, because all new machines coming out will have ThunderBolt 3 built in, and thus USB-C included in the pack. So, the company that may think about creating such a converter would have a reduced market of MacBook 12" users. A different thing would be a dock with all type of ports that offers the additional functionality for those same owners, but that appeals to all other users of ThunderBolt machines. All this third paragraph is just speculation, so we will have to wait an see.

     

    You can check additional information about ThunderBolt 3 at:

    https://thunderbolttechnology.net/blog/thunderbolt-3-usb-c-does-it-all

    http://www.cnet.com/news/thunderbolt-3-and-usb-type-c-join-forces-for-one-port-t o-rule-them-all/

    http://www.anandtech.com/show/9331/intel-announces-thunderbolt-3

    http://9to5mac.com/2015/06/02/usb-c-thunderbolt-3/

     

    Cheers,

     

    Victor Bottacco

  • by cls Australia,

    cls Australia cls Australia Jul 4, 2015 12:38 AM in response to Smokerz
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 4, 2015 12:38 AM in response to Smokerz

    The funny thing is that it still shows a thunderbolt display port on their promotional page for the macbook. You think they would fix their information on their website

    Screen Shot 2015-06-24 at 1.01.59 pm.png

  • by benwiggy,

    benwiggy benwiggy Jul 4, 2015 12:43 AM in response to cls Australia
    Level 4 (1,430 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 4, 2015 12:43 AM in response to cls Australia

    No, that's a mini-Display Port, which is not necessarily Thunderbolt. There are plenty of old Macs that have a mini-Display port for video, but which can't connect to a Thunderbolt drive or other TB device.

     

    Similarly, Thunderbolt 3 is going to use USB C connectors, so some USB C ports will be Thunderbolt capable, and some USB C ports won't.

     

    Confused? You will be....

  • by Obsthedog,

    Obsthedog Obsthedog Jul 11, 2015 3:23 PM in response to Kappy
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Jul 11, 2015 3:23 PM in response to Kappy

    Thanks  thats too bad.  I was going to replace my 2011 Mac Air with the new Mac Book.   I was hoping to gain even greater portability and a higher res screen.  Perhaps a few generations down the road.....I can't imaging many people going for the MB with its current limitations.

  • by Chattanoogan,

    Chattanoogan Chattanoogan Jul 11, 2015 4:56 PM in response to Obsthedog
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Jul 11, 2015 4:56 PM in response to Obsthedog

    Re: "... that's too bad.  I was going to replace my 2011 Mac Air with the new Mac Book ... "


    Agree.


    My own research and "crystal ball reading" has led me to the same forecast that Victor put forth in his para 3 ...


    ... that Thunderbolt 3 will be integrated into Apple's USB-C connectors in the not-too-distant future.


    So ... I'm simply going to wait.


    Perhaps a new -- and long awaited -- Thunderbolt display will also be rolled-out as a "companion" product w/ Thunderbolt 3 port.  (we can only hope)

  • by FatTito,

    FatTito FatTito Sep 17, 2015 9:41 AM in response to TimSportschuetz
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 17, 2015 9:41 AM in response to TimSportschuetz

    you need one of these, a mini-displayport female to female coupler: http://www.amazon.com/Monoprice-Mini-DisplayPort-Coupler-Female/dp/B003KQ6BMC/re f=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1442507343&sr=1-2&keywords=mini+displayport+f emale

     

    From computer use #1 the Apple USB-C digital AV video adapter with HDMI port (http://www.apple.com/shop/product/MJ1K2AM/A/usb-c-digital-av-multiport-adapter?f node=b1bb30b1d86fa5b243f9b25ac34064f7fca…

     

    #2 Then use an HDMI cable, #3 finally plug in an HDMI (female) to mini-displayport adapter (these are common on Apple store, amazon, etc),

    Then #4 the coupler mentioned above. Finally plug the TB display into the other side of the coupler.

     

    Haven't tried this, but it should get the connections fitting together and work in theory.

  • by Csound1,

    Csound1 Csound1 Sep 17, 2015 9:42 AM in response to mattthi
    Level 9 (50,731 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 17, 2015 9:42 AM in response to mattthi

    mattthi wrote:

     

    Absolutely. And it would be huge mistake to consider USB-C a replacement for Thunderbolt in upcoming MBP versions.

    Why?

  • by Csound1,

    Csound1 Csound1 Sep 17, 2015 9:44 AM in response to ckahn
    Level 9 (50,731 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 17, 2015 9:44 AM in response to ckahn

    ckahn wrote:

     

    So is this the end of the line for the Thunderbolt Display? 

    Who can tell, but I do think it s the beginning of the end for the Thunderbolt port.

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