Thunderbolt Coming to PCs in April 2012

thunderboltDigiTimes reports that Intel has notified partners that the company will "fully release" its Thunderbolt technology in April 2012. Intel is reportedly preparing to launch Thunderbolt-supported motherboards, notebooks and desktop PCs at that time.

Intel and Apple originally partnered on the new technology which has become standard across Apple's MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, Mac mini, and iMac. Digitimes reports that the cost of Thunderbolt technology is expected to drop in the second half of 2012, allowing more widespread adoption.

While Apple does offer Thunderbolt across most of its product line, the first Thunderbolt products have been limited to relatively high end devices. More widespread adoption should help drive adoption by accessory makers that will benefit both Mac and PC users that use Thunderbolt.

Intel has always said that they see both USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt as complementary technologies and plans to support both in their 2012 motherboards.

Popular Stories

iOS 26

15 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.2

Friday December 5, 2025 9:40 am PST by
Apple is about to release iOS 26.2, the second major point update for iPhones since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least 15 notable changes and improvements worth checking out. We've rounded them up below. Apple is expected to roll out iOS 26.2 to compatible devices sometime between December 8 and December 16. When the update drops, you can check Apple's servers for the ...
Intel Inside iPhone Feature

Apple's Return to Intel Rumored to Extend to iPhone

Friday December 5, 2025 10:08 am PST by
Intel is expected to begin supplying some Mac and iPad chips in a few years, and the latest rumor claims the partnership might extend to the iPhone. In a research note with investment firm GF Securities this week, obtained by MacRumors, analyst Jeff Pu said he and his colleagues "now expect" Intel to reach a supply deal with Apple for at least some non-pro iPhone chips starting in 2028....
iPhone 14 Pro Dynamic Island

iPhone 18 Pro Leak Adds New Evidence for Under-Display Face ID

Monday December 8, 2025 4:54 am PST by
Apple is actively testing under-screen Face ID for next year's iPhone 18 Pro models using a special "spliced micro-transparent glass" window built into the display, claims a Chinese leaker. According to "Smart Pikachu," a Weibo account that has previously shared accurate supply-chain details on Chinese Android hardware, Apple is testing the special glass as a way to let the TrueDepth...
iPhone 17 Pro Cosmic Orange

10 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 18 Pro

Monday December 1, 2025 2:40 am PST by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth...
iOS 26

Apple Seeds Second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to Developers and Public Beta Testers

Monday December 8, 2025 10:18 am PST by
Apple today seeded the second release candidate version of iOS 26.2 to developers and public beta testers, with the software coming one week after Apple seeded the first RC. The release candidate represents the final version iOS 26.2 that will be provided to the public if no further bugs are found. Registered developers and public beta testers can download the betas from the Settings app on...
Johny Srouji

Apple Chip Chief Johny Srouji Could Be Next to Go as Exodus Continues

Sunday December 7, 2025 10:41 am PST by
Apple's senior vice president of hardware technologies Johny Srouji could be the next leading executive to leave the company amid an alarming exodus of leading employees, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports. Srouji apparently recently told CEO Tim Cook that he is "seriously considering leaving" in the near future. He intends to join another company if he departs. Srouji leads Apple's chip design ...
Johny Srouji

Apple's Chipmaking Chief Johny Srouji Responds to Report About Him Potentially Leaving

Monday December 8, 2025 9:23 am PST by
Apple's chipmaking chief Johny Srouji has reportedly indicated that he plans to continue working for the company for the foreseeable future. "I love my team, and I love my job at Apple, and I don't plan on leaving anytime soon," said Srouji, in a memo obtained by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Here is Srouji's full memo, as shared by Bloomberg:I know you've been reading all kind of rumors and...
top stories 2025 12 04a

Top Stories: iOS 26.2 Coming Soon, Apple Execs Depart, and More

Saturday December 6, 2025 6:00 am PST by
You'd expect things to be starting to wind down for the holidays by now, but that doesn't seem to be the case yet in the world of Apple news, with Apple just about ready to release iOS 26.2 and other operating system updates to the public. There was also a flurry of news this week about Apple executive departures, some expected and some not so expected, while we also learned that Apple and...
ive and altman

Jony Ive's OpenAI Device Barred From Using 'io' Name

Friday December 5, 2025 6:22 am PST by
A U.S. appeals court has upheld a temporary restraining order that prevents OpenAI and Jony Ive's new hardware venture from using the name "io" for products similar to those planned by AI audio startup iyO, Bloomberg Law reports. iyO sued OpenAI earlier this year after the latter announced its partnership with Ive's new firm, arguing that OpenAI's planned "io" branding was too close to its...

Top Rated Comments

gullySn0wCat Avatar
182 months ago
Finally! Hopefully we get some cheap TB gadgets soon:D
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jwdsail Avatar
182 months ago
I did a search for UltraCock (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=UltraCock), but none of the NSFW hits had anything to do with computers. ;)

Sorry 'bout that, autocorrect substituted my superhero name for the product name...
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AidenShaw Avatar
182 months ago
In the meantime ... http://www.magma.com/thunderbolt.asp

...according to your link:

In general interoperability with Windows is more straightforward than interoperability with MacOS. The MacOS driver for the PCIe card must be modified/updated to be ‘Thunderbolt Aware’. No changes to drivers are required for support under Windows.
...
There is an interoperability issue with MacOS using graphics (GPU) cards externally through Thunderbolt. Unfortunately, external graphics solutions for MacOS X do not work and we do not expect a resolution from Apple in the short term.

It looks like "the world's most advanced OS" needs some work to match the world's most popular OS.... ;)
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sushi Avatar
182 months ago
Makes sense:
* USB 3 for keyboards, mice and occasional fast transfers like thumb drives.
* Thunderbolt for monitors, and applications requiring fast external HHD/SSD times, etc.


Sounds good. :)
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AidenShaw Avatar
182 months ago
So, maybe by April 2012, someone will finally take my money and sell me an updated WiebeTech UltraCock drive dock and/or an updated NewerTech Voyager that adds Thunderbolt (with daisy chaining) to the FireWire and eSATA on the current versions.....

I did a search for UltraCock (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=UltraCock), but none of the NSFW hits had anything to do with computers. ;)
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Slix Avatar
182 months ago
I want to see cheaper hard drives and the like for Thunderbolt soon. :D
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)