“One more thing”: a Thunderbolt 4 flavor for Macs Apple Silicon

The transition to Apple Silicon chips should begin with the MacBook Air and Pro. Rumor has it that Apple will introduce a 13-inch MacBook Air and a similar-sized MacBook Pro (and possibly a 16-inch model) on November 10, which should remain familiar on the outside … but not on the inside.

On the other hand, under the aluminum cover, things will be very different, with of course an A14 chip (A14X?) Embedding an overpowered processor accompanied by a house GPU and a Neural Engine. Enough to open up possibilities for Macs that are currently reserved for iOS devices only.

But that’s not all. It is about marking the occasion because after all Apple does not change architecture every four morning. In addition to the chip, the manufacturer could integrate Thunderbolt 4 into these new Macs. This speculation is supported by the fact that several high-end Thunderbolt products from Sonnet are no longer available and have been for two months: Echo Express III-D , III-R, or the eGFX Breakaway Box 650W. Unable to get hold of these devices, ” discontinued ” or ” out of stock ».

The manufacturer has informed its distributors that new models are planned for the month of November. One might think that Sonnet is waiting for the green light from Apple and for good reason: the new generation of these products would be equipped with Thunderbolt 4… like the Macs! In order to calm the anxieties of many users worried about seeing the DTK without a Thunderbolt port, Apple confirmed in early July that its future Apple Silicon computers would indeed continue to support the protocol.

With Intel, Apple played a central role in the creation of this technology, which the manufacturer continues to improve (read: Mac Pro 2019 test: MPX and the triumph of the Thunderbolt). The first machines equipped with Thunderbolt 4 – Dell laptops – were presented at the end of September. And OWC unveiled a Thunderbolt 4 dock not long ago! The stars are aligned so that Macs also benefit from the capabilities of the protocol (read: Thunderbolt 4: Intel unveils its new “universal” connectivity).

These Apple Silicon Macs would also be ideal candidates to integrate Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax), like the latest iOS devices. That would make some sense because after all, all these little people rely on the same system-on-chip. Come on, let’s take advantage that it’s late and the children are in bed to also hope for 4G / 5G support on these Macs …