INTEL TO INTEGRATE THUNDERBOLT 3 INTO UPCOMING CPUS

Thunderbolt is finally getting the love it deserves from Intel, who will start integrating Thunderbolt 3 right into its processors. OEMs will no longer need to shell out for an extra chip just to support Thunderbolt. This means if a motherboard or laptop manufacturer wants to include Thunderbolt 3 support on their product, all they do is hook a port up to the chipset, instead of buying and adding another chip just for it. This effectively makes Thunderbolt 3 support “free.” In addition to this, Intel is also making Thunderbolt 3 available on a non-exclusive, royalty-free basis. This allows third-party chip makers to make Thunderbolt-compatible chips, lowering the price and placing the standard in more creative packages - so for end devices (e.g: external SSDs, video capture devices, docking stations) that want to include Thunderbolt 3 support, doing so will be easier and cheaper. Expect to see many more TB3 devices around mid-to-late 2018 thanks to this new approach from Intel.