Thunderbolt is currently the leading physical hookup you’ll find for your PC. This Intel technology has been around since 2011, with various iterations climbing sequentially up to Thunderbolt 4.
Although Thunderbolt 4 was only revealed in 2020 and first hit laptops with Intel’s 11th Gen Tiger Lake platform (since moving on to Alder Lake systems), rumblings of a new Thunderbolt 5 spec have been heard since 2021 when an Intel exec accidentally leaked some details.
Here’s what you need to know about the next best port technology.
How does Thunderbolt 5 compare to Thunderbolt 4?
Details about Thunderbolt 5 are still sparse, but it is expected to take over for Thunderbolt 4 as the best next-gen physical connection. We know that Thunderbolt 5 is being developed behind the scenes at Intel, and we know that it is going to double the bandwidth of TB4, pushing it all the way up to 80Gbps.
That’s a huge leap, but it’s not the first time that Thunderbolt’s bandwidth has been doubled.
The original Thunderbolt was capable of 10Gbps speeds, doubling to 20Gbps just three years later with Thunderbolt 2. Thunderbolt 3 again doubled up to 40Gbps two years later.
Thunderbolt 4 kept the same 40Gbps bandwidth as Thunderbolt 3, but it made advancements in other areas. It doubled video support, allowing for dual 4K displays at a 60Hz refresh rate each from a single port. It doubled the minimum bandwidth from 16Gbps up to 32Gbps. And it added some new threat detection technology to better protect your PC against compromised accessories being connected.
Powerful Thunderbolt 4 docking stations are capable of providing three downstream TB4 ports, as well as a host cable measuring up to two meters. Daisy-chaining, charging, and multi-port setups are all possible with the right Thunderbolt 4 hardware, and that’s not expected to change with Thunderbolt 5.
On a recent trip to Israel to visit the Intel fabrication plant during Intel’s Tech Tour 2022, Executive Editor Daniel Rubino was shown a quick video of Thunderbolt 5 being tested using PCIe and an external SSD. It’s not much, but it’s so far all we have other than the leaked images from last year.
If you’re interested in reading more about Thunderbolt technology, our sibling article regarding everything you need to know about Thunderbolt 4 has a lot more information.
What laptops include Thunderbolt 5?
Thunderbolt 5 is still in its infancy stage, being developed behind the scenes at Intel. There’s so far no news regarding when it will be coming to PCs. When Thunderbolt 5 does get an official release, it’s expected that Intel’s latest mobile platform in the best Windows laptops will get the upgrade.
Until we see an official announcement and release, Thunderbolt 4 is the next best thing. Intel claims that 90% of laptops with 12th Gen Core CPUs have Thunderbolt 4, which doubled the previous count in recent years.
And PCs aren’t the only hardware with Thunderbolt 4 that have seen growth, as there’s been a 40% uptick in accessories year over year. This growth includes docks, hard drives, external GPU enclosures, capture cards, monitors, and more.
And while many budget laptops still stick with plain USB-C, you can find some genuinely affordable devices with the upgraded port.
Do note that the AMD platform is still a dry spot for Thunderbolt. AMD mostly sticks with a USB4 alternative due partly to the licensing fees required by Intel.
