The Thunderbolt 3 port was just released last year, and it has already caused lots of chatter in the technology community. If you have the new Macbook Pro, you have already seen these ports, especially since 4 of the 5 ports on the laptop are all Thunderbolt 3. Not only does the Macbook Pro have these ports, but tons of other recently released laptops do as well. So what is a Thunderbolt 3 port? In short terms, it is a type of USB-C port that was developed to be the best port on the current market. Let's take a look at why the Thunderbolt 3 port is considered the "best" port.
1. Reversibility
An advantage of the Thunderbolt 3 port is that it uses the USB-C connector, which is symmetrical. What that means is that when you plug in the cable into the port, it does not matter which side the cable is on as it is reversible, similar to the charging mechanism of iPhones. No more struggling to fit the cable in the right way!
2. Faster Data Transfer
If there was one characteristic I had to reveal about the Thunderbolt 3 port, it would be that it has the fastest data transfer currently available, with speeds of up to 40 Gbps, which means that it can transfer up to 40 Gigabits of data in one second. This doubles the speed of the next fastest port, the Thunderbolt 2. For comparison, the common USB 2.0 port has speeds up to 480 megabits per second, and the USB 3.0 port has speeds of up to 5 gigabits per second, which are measly compared to the Thunderbolt 3 speeds.
3. Faster Charging
Not only does the Thunderbolt 3 port provide faster data transfer, but also faster charging. It's not hard to see the pattern here.
4. Versatility
Thanks to the highest data transfer speeds available, the Thunderbolt 3 is arguably the most versatile port, as you can either change it into any other existing port with adapters or use converter cables such as USB-C to Micro-USB to connect different devices. If you wanted, you could hook up anything from a USB mouse to a 5K display using USB-C. Without needing more evidence, one can really say that the future of technology lies in the hands of the Thunderbolt 3 port.
