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Apple Still Considering USB 3.0 in Addition to Thunderbolt?

VitaminD said:
USB 3.0? That would be perfect. Far more peripherals exists for USB 3.0 than for Thunderbolt. And they're cheaper. Also, ability to connect a USB 3.0 to eSATA adapter.

Perfect.
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Or, as USB 3.0 is backwards compatible, replace the USB 2.0 ports on Macs with USB 3.0. Utter brilliant. :D

Thunderbolt + USB 3.0 = Pure Win.
 
MacRumors said:
[url=http://cdn.macrumors.com/im/macrumorsthreadlogodarkd.png]Image[/url]


VR-Zone claims to have heard that Apple is still exploring the integration of USB 3.0 into their future computers. USB 3 is the most recent major version of the USB standard. Apple presently supports USB 2 in its computers. The main improvement in USB 3 is that it can support transfer speeds up to 10x faster than USB 2. VR-Zone writes:Apple has been believed to be holding off on USB 3.0, in part, due to a lack of Intel support in their motherboards. Steve Jobs, responding to an email back in October 2010 said the following:Intel has since announced that their 2012 platform known as 'Ivy Bridge' will support both USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt. Intel says they view the two technologies as complementary. VR-Zone, however, believes that Apple may be considering implementing USB 3.0 before Intel's adoption.

That leaves us wondering when Apple might actually get around to doing this, and for which computers. The iMac, Mac mini and MacBook Pro have all been updated to the latest Intel architecture. We don't expect them to be updated again until the first half of 2012, which is when Intel's USB 3 ready "Ivy Bridge" is also expected to be available. That just leaves the Mac Pro model which is due for upgrade.

Image


The Mac Pro has been believed to have been a candidate for USB 3 in the past. It's overdue for an update, and is expected to see a refresh late this year. So, that's one possible candidate.

The wildcard is the new Mac Product line that was previously rumored. From VR-Zone's description of their source, it sounds like someone who works in a supplier of USB 3 controllers, so they seem to know that Apple has been looking into them, not the intended target for the parts.

It also seems an unusual move as Apple has committed to Thunderbolt in the most recent round of updates. The main disadvantage of Thunderbolt over USB 3 seems to be the cost of implementation, both in the host computer but also the 3rd party accessories which may be limited to high-end devices to start.

Article Link: Apple Still Considering USB 3.0 in Addition to Thunderbolt?
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It's not like Apple made a huge hullabaloo when USB 2.0 was first integrated into Macs. It just happened and it was only posted on the spec-sheets. Not to say that USB 3.0 isn't important, but it's not something the average consumer will know or care about, nor is it really in need of the marketing hype that Thunderbolt, a brand new connection interface entirely (or at least as brand new as anything else based on the MiniDisplayPort could be) is, or that FireWire 800 was at the time of its first release on the first generation 17" PowerBook G4 back in 2003.
 
adder7712 said:
Or, as USB 3.0 is backwards compatible, replace the USB 2.0 ports on Macs with USB 3.0. Utter brilliant. :D

Thunderbolt + USB 3.0 = Pure Win.
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Absolutely correct. Literally the best of all worlds.

iMac 27" w/ (2) TB ports, (1) FW 800 port, and (4) USB 3.0 ports.

What's not to love? :D
 
Even though it's just a rumor the very hint that Apple might want to live in the real world of computers where the rest of us live is indeed refreshing news.
 
scottsjack said:
Even though it's just a rumor the very hint that Apple might want to live in the real world of computers where the rest of us live is indeed refreshing news.
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Agreed, it is terrible that USB 3.0 peripherals still work with USB 2.0.

Backwards compatibility is a liability.

It should not be allowed.
 
USB 3.0 is going to take off. Thunderbolt is not.

Example: Search newegg for USB 3.0 hard drive enclosures. You will get TONS of results, all of them cheap and available right now.

Search newegg for Thunderbolt hard drive enclosures. Zero hits. Absolutely NOTHING.

I don't care how much better Thunderbolt is as a standard; it's clear that the market hasn't embraced it. Apple cannot force the market to embrace it. I'm not saying get rid of it; I still use Firewire today even though the market didn't embrace it either; it's a good standard. But there are USB ports on every Mac, they should be 3.0, not 2.0.

This is what happens when you come up with standards, then slap on expensive and difficult licensing. USB 3.0 is easy to license, hence all the product readily available. Notice that we've seen *ZERO* Thunderbolt products from far-east manufacturers. Apple failed us again.
 
Given that Thunderbolt can carry USB 2, Firewire, audio, video and ethernet simultaneously on the Apple Thunderbolt Display, it may be able to do USB 3 too, given the right adaptor. I am only speculating so if anyone knows if this is possible please set the record straight.

Personally I have no use for it. External FireWire drives are fast and reliable enough with the option to be bus-powered without taking a second port (like silly USB splitter cables) and before anyone mentions SSDs, they perform better installed internally via SATA, not in external cases. If I ever get a RAID it would be far better to pay extra for the Thunderbolt version that is faster, instead of a slightly cheaper USB 3 version that compromises performance. Likewise, for audio and video peripherals I would stick to the proven FireWire or the Thunderbolt versions. USB 2 audio gear has been a step back, technology-wise (USB audio seems limited to 96kHz, 24-bit while FireWire goes up to 192kHZ-24-bit and can be used without a host computer) but like most USB peripherals, it is cheaper, thus its prevalence.
 
I really don't understand the logic behind NOT putting USB 3.0 on there.. You already have the ports, just freakin' make them 3.0 already.

Personally I have no use for it. External FireWire drives are fast and reliable enough with the option to be bus-powered without taking a second port (like silly USB splitter cables)
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I haven't used a USB 2.0 drive that required 2 USB ports in years. I just purchased a 750GB Western Digital Passport that only used a single USB 2.0 port. They're not exactly hard to find. USB 3 supplies more power so if you don't have to use two with USB 2 you certainly won't have to with USB 3.
 
I really like the idea of Thunderbolt as a single "do all" port. There are too many varieties of things that need to be narrowed down to one if you ask me.
 
Thunderbolt can do anything.

This can't be denied.
 

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WardC said:
Where is my FREE Fiber-Optic 100 Gigabit Fiber Internet connection, Apple...Google?? Anyone??? It is is 2011 folks, and we are stuck with the same cable broadband speeds we had in 1997!!! 14 year old technology, you would think our connection speed options would have improved....

In 1997, Macs shipped with 200MHz processors, 32MB of RAM and a 4GB Hard Drive, now we have computers shipping with over 200x as much RAM, are at least 50x as fast and have 500x as much disk space...

But the internet speeds are still the same????

I want my 100 Gigabit Fiber Internet connection....NOW!

We should be able to transfer at least 500 Megabytes of data per second over our Internet connections in major cities....the infrastructure is there, but it is being hoarded by institutions, companies, and Universities, and not allowed for mass-public subscriber access....our only two main options for "semi-fast" Internet are still cable and DSL....FIOS is only on Verizon in "select markets" and it is not a full Fiber connection, at that.
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helllzzzzz Yeah !!!!! internet speeds suck !!!! my cousin in Norway has way faster internet and so does my brother in Germany. the u.s. is dog.
 
munkery said:
http://www.lacie.com/us/products/product.htm?id=10549

Edit: To help emphasize the point being made in the link provided above, here are some more links:

http://www.sonnettech.com/product/thunderbolt/
http://www.htc.com/us/products/thunderbolt-verizon
http://tbolt.net/
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So what are the prices of the LaCie SSD Little Big Disks? It's already the end of the summer. The page cannot produce any new / current info.

Heat-sink cases should not be necessary with SSDs.

"a LaCie storage prototype exceeded transfer rates of 700MB/s while daisy-chained between a computer and monitor" - Sounds fantastic.
 
AidenShaw said:
Can you connect 8 devices to a TBolt port?

Advantage -> USB 3.0
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What are you talking about? Thunderbolt devices can be daisy-chained. I don't know what the limit of devices you can daisy-chain is but at some point you would not want to saturate one bus with too many. USB needs a hub to connect multiple devices to the same port, adding to the clutter and power consumption. It's also hard to make this maximum devices comparison because the Thunderbolt bus has twice the throughput of USB 3 so less but bigger devices like displays would be pushing more data through the single bus.
 
Apple will have USB 3.0, when it is built-in on Intel's Chipsets. Just like how Apple will have Blu-Ray when they don't have to license the appropriate technologies from their individual rights holders, but just one that takes care of it all, like CD and DVD have.

TEG
 
doctor-don said:
So what are the prices of the LaCie SSD Little Big Disks? It's already the end of the summer. The page cannot produce any new / current info.

Heat-sink cases should not be necessary with SSDs.

"a LaCie storage prototype exceeded transfer rates of 700MB/s while daisy-chained between a computer and monitor" - Sounds fantastic.
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I think you missed the point of my post.

John.B said:
Good Lord! What would that leave the haters to bitch about?

Oh, yeah, Blu-ray!
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Oh no!

http://www.macblurayplayer.com/
http://www.lacie.com/us/products/product.htm?id=10539

Remember to connect the external BD to the USB 3.0 expresscard that is connected to the Thunderbolt expresscard adapter rather than just connecting it to the USB 2.0 ports on the Mac.
 
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Mmm! I can easily imagine a 2013 MacBook Pro (next time I'm up for an update)

11"/13" Retina Display
512 GB/1 TB SSD
USB 3.0 x 2
Thunderbolt
SDXC Slot
FaceTime HD

Heck maybe even a carbon fiber body!
 
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