According to reports, Intel today unveiled Thunderbolt 3, which uses an identical port design as its USB brethren. So if Apple sticks with its new MacBook design, for instance, it's possible you won't need an adapter to hook up external hardware via Thunderbolt.
With its quicker data speeds, the new Thunderbolt 3 will support dual 4K 60 Hz displays.
The old Thunderbolt 2
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It's a step towards simplifying the often messy sea of ports found on laptops and PCs, and should make the standard accessible to a larger group of people than before. Thunderbolt 3 will offer much more than just port convenience, however.
Sources say it'll also deliver a 40Gbps connection over Thunderbolt, which is double the speed of Thunderbolt 2, 10 Gbps USB 3.1 and DisplayPort 1.2.
With its quicker data speeds, the new Thunderbolt 3 will support dual 4K 60 Hz displays, in addition to blazingly fast file transfers. Of course, you'll also be able to use it for regular USB work, which should be useful when connecting older accessories.
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Intel says the first Thunderbolt 3 products should ship later this year.
