![]() You can’t plug older USB devices into a modern, tiny USB-C port, nor can you connect a USB-C connector into an older, larger USB port. The physical USB-C connector isn’t backward compatible, but the underlying USB standard is. USB-C: What's the Difference? Backward Compatibility Thunderbolt 4 requires a minimum transfer speed of 40 gigabits per second, whereas USB 4 only has a minimum of 20 gigabits per second. The most significant difference is the minimum transfer speed. You can take any Thunderbolt 3 or Thunderbolt 4 cable and use it to connect USB devices with USB-C ports and they’ll work correctly.Īlmost any arrangement of USB and Thunderbolt ports, cables, and peripherals will work. In other words, you can take a USB external SSD, plug it into a Thunderbolt port with a USB-C cable rated for USB 3.2 standards, and expect it to work correctly. Since they share a connector, modern USB standards (like USB 3.2, USB 4, and USB 4 v2.0) are designed to be interoperable with Thunderbolt. Thunderbolt 3 and Thunderbolt 4 both use USB-C connectors and USB-C ports for their physical connections. The Thunderbolt standard defines how much power and data a port and cable must be able to transfer, as well as mandate some other features, like video and PCIe functionality. Thunderbolt is technically a connectivity standard, much like USB itself is. This probably won’t be an issue unless you’re trying to drive a 4K display faster than 60 Hz, thankfully. Not all converters can handle the latest DisplayPort or HDMI standards, which might mean that you get worse performance than you would otherwise expect. Second, it introduces a potential bottleneck. That probably isn’t a dealbreaker, but it is something to be aware of. First, the USB-C to HDMI adapter is active, which means that it consumes electricity while converting the signal. In most situations, you probably won’t notice the difference between native HDMI Alt Mode and the more convoluted DisplayPort Alt Mode to HDMI conversion method, but there are a few important differences. It contains a small PCB with the circuitry required to convert DisplayPort to HDMI. Note the abnormally large HDMI connector. That means your ultra-thin laptop doesn’t need a chunky DisplayPort port, manufacturers can opt for a small USB-C port instead. USB-C includes support for DisplayPort Alt Mode, which allows USB-C cables to transmit video signals directly between your computer and display via the DisplayPort standard. Typically, that requires both a DisplayPort port, and a DisplayPort cable, but USB-C changes that. USB-C to DisplayPortĭisplayPort - as the name might suggest - is specifically designed to transmit video signals between your computer and a display of some kind, like a monitor, TV, or projector. When buying devices, you’ll just need to keep your eye on the details and make sure you’re buying devices (and cables) that support the USB standard you need in a device. In fact, Nokia’s N1 Android tablet uses a USB Type-C connector, but underneath it’s all USB 2.0 - not even USB 3.0. However, these technologies are closely related. USB Type-C is just a connector shape, and the underlying technology could just be USB 2, USB 3, or USB 4. USB Type-C isn’t the same thing as USB 3.2 or USB 4, though. Regular USB 4 has a maximum transfer rate of 40 gigabits per second, and USB v2.0 has a maximum transfer rate of 80 gigabits per second. There are only two versions of USB 4: USB 4, and USB 4 v2.0. USB 4 has tried to avoid falling into the naming trap. You could plug your laptop into an external display connected to a power cable, and that external display would charge your laptop as you used it as an external display - all via the one little USB Type-C connection. You could even charge your laptop from one of those portable battery packs you charge your smartphones and other portable devices from today. USB-C could spell the end of all those proprietary laptop charging cables, with everything charging via a standard USB connection. This kind of power delivery could even let you charge a laptop, which usually requires up to about 60 watts.Īpple’s MacBook Air and Google’s Chromebook Pixel both use their USB-C ports as their charging ports. ![]() And this power can be transferred at the same time the device is transmitting data across the connection. It’s bi-directional, so a device can either send or receive power. The USB PD specification v3.1 supported by USB-C ups this power delivery to an enormous 240 watts. A USB 2.0 connection provides up to 2.5 watts of power-enough to charge your phone or tablet, but that’s about it. The USB PD specification is also closely intertwined with USB Type-C.
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