Apple dropped a surprise today with the announcement of the new redesigned Mac mini when it revealed that the M4 Pro model comes with three Thunderbolt 5 ports, making it the first Mac to support the next-generation connectivity standard.
The newest specification of Thunderbolt offers 80 Gb/s of bi-directional bandwidth, and with Bandwidth Boost it will provide up to 120 Gb/s, enabling triple the maximum bandwidth of Thunderbolt 4 for an optimal display experience.
Given that the current 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M3 Pro and M3 Max chips only support the older protocol, you can almost consider it a given that Apple's upcoming MacBook Pro models with M4 Pro and M4 Max will support Thunderbolt 5.
Thunderbolt 5 is fully compatible with USB4, and supports advanced protocols such as PCIe 4.0, allowing faster data access speeds for storage devices and peripherals. In addition, the new standard features support for native DisplayPort 2.1 output over USB‑C. Thanks to Thunderbolt 5, the Mac mini with M4 Pro can also support up to three 6K external displays at 60Hz, so expect similar enhancements to come to the new high-end MacBook Pro models.
Apple is expected to announce the new M4 MacBook Pro models on Wednesday. The entry-level 14-inch MacBook Pro will be equipped with an M4 chip, while the higher-end 14-inch and 16-inch models will offer M4 Pro and M4 Max chips.
