Type-C: physical, shape of the connector. Thunderbolt 3: the software implementation and data transfer protocol.

Thunderbolt 3 ports look exactly the same as USB-C ports, and indeed, the connector is physically the same from a plug-in perspective. In many cases, they can do everything that a USB-C port can, except much faster I explain it in 10 sec.

Uhhhhh... For me, that was clear as mudd.

Skip to 5:56 - Watch until 6:20 - Move on with your day

I rarely comment on videos but this video is so confusing that I wish I didn’t see it in the first place..

This is the most complicated video to explain something not so complicated

That tells me nothing other than Thunderbolt being faster. The most important piece of information would have been to tell us what happens when you put a USB C peripheral in a Thunderbolt port and vice versa. So I’m none the wiser

Let's show stock footage of an iPhone lightning cable for extra confusion. 👏

Before Type-c we had 10 different USB connectors... Now we have 11 ! And the new one adds even more confusion since it can be found on both USB and Thunderbolt devices... GREAT ENGINEERING !

The world in 2077 : we use usb type c *Cyberpunk theme music starts

We need a follow up video. I still have a thunderbolt 3 expansion card for an older PC, that I never use, but would like to know about the 'ins and outs', of Thunderbolt 3 vs Thunderbolt 4, and how backwards compatibility plays a role.

Intel 11th Gen CPU's have Thunderbolt controllers built into the CPU. This leads to a HUGE difference in EGPU performance as the EGPU doesn't need to go through a thunderbolt controller to reach the CPU resulting in less latency.

When one has to read the comment section to understand what the video claims to explain. And every good comment takes less time to read than watch the video.

Using a iPhone 6 to demonstrate , USB-C ain't wise enough , LOL *at :* 0:28

The generic people clips are distracting 😑

Ok. Simply put, USB-C and Thunderbolt use the same connector, the USB-C. It's what's the circuitry inside the computer that the cable is plugged in to that's different. Think of it like buying a new car. You can get the same car with a standard engine, let's say a 4 cylinder, with the high performance option being a V-8. It gives you more speed and power. Same car, different engine. USB-C is the car. Thunderbolt is the high performance engine, USB (using the USB-C connector) is the standard engine. Not sure if that's a good analogy, but I tried. :). It took me until the last 30 seconds to understand what she was talking about. It sounded informative, but ultimately confusing. :)

I had teachers like you in college.

*The more confused the customer is, then the greater the advantage the manufacturer has.*

Wow. amazing video . I learned a lot and i just subscribed

thank you ❤️

Still didn't say what the difference was. Just that they use the same interface but are different several times.

A couple of times you stated that USB C is only backwards compatible to USB 2.0, but I thought it would still work with USB 1.1 (which AFAIK is still commonly used for cheap low speed devices like mice and keyboards).

This could all have been said in one minute, more clearly. Serious practical questions are not answered: eg what happens if you plug usb 3.x technology into a thunderbolt tech port and vice versa?

Great video! And greater: the suggestion to like at the end, when you actually saw the video!

sounds to me you said a whole lot of words, but didn't really explain anything.

too much talking for no reason

I didn't think I was confused about this until now.

That really helped thanks

Still vaguely confused, but the fog is lifting...

Thank you. Still clear as mud as far as us mere mortals go.

Wow, that actually made sense! Thank you.

Comnragulations for 99k subs

Title of the video should be “how to confuse the person who clearly knows the difference between Type C and Tthunderbolt 3”

Thx fr infmation 🙏😉

Thank you for this informative video.

This was good, but the most important thing was not covered: how can I discern the two visually? Are TB3 ports labelled with "3" or similar to differentiate them from non-TB3 ports?

TB3 is a dream with a quality TB3 Audio Interface for recording. Negligible latency. And MANY simultaneous channels recording! No hassles. It is altogether a much better system.

Great review 😎

How about comparing USB 3 over USB-C and thunderbolt? Far about the multitude of other things tied into each protocol like power distribution, display port pass thru, channels, devices, OTG (host vs device)?

*All THUNDERBOLT 3 is 40gb/s with a MUST HAVE thunderbolt on the wire.. *USB-C 3.1 (GEN 2) is 10gb/s.. *USB-C 3.1 (GEN 1) is 5g/s.. that's all you need to know!!

Bottom line: if it fits, it should work. The closer they match, the faster the transfer.

Like it, thanks for sharing :)

I have a question: Can I use the same usb on a building or a utility pole solely mounted to give off a warning signal for an air raid attack or a tornado? Because the thing that confuses me, where's the blower?

A big omission for me in this video is the question of cross-compatibility...what would happen if I mistakenly plug one into the other...what would go wrong?

SHE SAID A WHOLE LOT OF NOTHING.. WHAT IS THE DIFFERANCE??

Thanks so much fo' lurning me about alla thiss...

Are they truly interchangeable? Given the speed variables? could someone damage a device by plugging in the wrong cable?

Okay @Gamescan, pay attention, *this* is an example of how you should explain things: "Thunderbolt 3 has XXX advantages over Type C, that's what makes them different. " See how fast and easy to understand that is? It should be possible to explain it in less that one minute.

This channel covers things that most big youtubers don’t and I love it

Sooo, I’m not a gamer but would like to know if it’s possible to use a USB-C-cable to a Thunderbolt-3 interface? Is there any difference in the actual cables like threads, shielding etc.?

My Dell 5510 I got from work has a TB3 port which surprised me. So can swap my TB3 dock back and forth between it and my personal MBP.

5:08 isn’t this a micro USB? 🤔🤣

That video was so enlightening that I decided that I'm going to teach my cat 🐈 how to set the time on the VCR & the Microwave as well! 🤯

TLDR. USB and Thunderbolt are like different languages. The generations are like the big change in the type of device people communicate with. So at first morse code, then texting on a number pad, keyboard on phones, then a phone call would be equivalent to the shape of the connector you get on the cable. They developed different so the speed they can talk to a device that speaks their language changes but sometimes like this generation theyre speaking a different language but are using the same device to speak, just one is a super slow version vs thunderbolts shinny fast version. think like sending an email in english and french, one is using dail up the other is using fibre broadband, both are using google mail, just at different speeds. In some other generations its like trying to send an email as a text message (when you have different looking connectors on the cable). If theyre both using the same connector they may not be on the same speed but they arent even speaking the same language. Only if a translation has been done can they talk to each other.

A rare comprehensive video on this topic covered quite well, kudos! The lady in the video does a fabulous job. Please increase her pay!

So what’s the difference between usb c and thunderbolt ?

At the end of the day, as I understand it, to take advantage of the 40Gig TB speeds, BOTH devices have to have TB ports. Plugging a USB C to TB will not be able to exceed the USB C's transfer rate. Your transfer rate will always be limited to the slowest port in the chain.... (at least for now I believe..)

I want to expand my docks on my laptop 💻. I just want to know if there is a Hub with thunderbolt 3 docks; most of them only have usb c for charging. Thanks!

Are the pinouts for USB-C (USB3.2) and Thunderbolt 3 the same? If not, how do they differ?

Thank you - to me, that made perfect sense. Yes, a tricky concept to understand as they are not a comparison. I purchased an M1 MBP recently and ordered the wrong power supplies, simply because I could not work out whether the MBP needed USB-C, Thunderbolt-3 or mag-safe. I mistakenly went with mag-safe and had to return both, to be replaced by USB-C/Thunderbolt-3. I could not understand why on Apple’s website that they referred to both but not always on the same page. I struggled to understand... are they USB-C, like my iPad Pro or Thunderbolt-3. In hindsight, and after your clear and concise explanation, it is now so obvious, so thank you! Have subscribed.

What about answering the main question - What will happen if I put my USB Typ C in a Thunderbolt hole, and vice versa? Do they fit? Should they fit? Does it work? Is it smart? Or should someone hang for this idiocy?

Thanks for the explanation

Excellent video, I think I knew this, but I definitely know it now! 😊

Great video, very informative. Well done! The video didn't specifically talk about it, but I suppose by convention, since it's the same physical connector, that the pins (contacts) on the Thunderbolt and USB-C connectors are numbered the same. I'm curious though, is the power and signal pin-out the same for both? I mean, do they use the same power (+5)? Is the power and ground on the same pins? Are the data inputs and outputs on the same pins?

Totally didn’t get this vid

Thank you so much🎉

Very helpful. Thanks. 😂

In short, usb type C is the connector type and thunderbolt is the medium.

My newest pet peeve is people confusing USB-C and USB 3.1 or 3.2. It happens so often especially with docks and hubs that people are starting to not like "USB-C" because things don't always work as they expect.

Good video...thanks.

I’m reasonably smart, I’m the guy who learns all the new technology out to help explain it to everyone around me and help bring them up to speed. Your video left me lost, confused and I didn’t even understand what you were trying to explain

It should be noted that Apple designed the USB-C port. But they won’t come out and say that. It was designed to fit on their new, thin laptops. On a Mac Thunderbolt 3 already has the features of TB4 on PCs. It handles SATA and DisplayPort and Thunderbolt Hubbing, where you can daisy chain up to 4 devices on one TB port.

Same thing physically, different protocol

Hey 😁have a question, just wondering if a third party adapter will work (USB C to mini display port) to connect a thunderbolt monitor to MacBook m1 pro? If so, do you think the brightness can still be controlled on the screens? Thanks in advance!

It would help if you provided real use case information answers like are they interchangeable with the devices we use etc.? Perhaps pointing out how some devices have both USB-C and thunderbolt three connectors and although they look the same only the ones designated as thunderbolt can be used for external monitors and other thunderbolt specific devices. If you did mention that and I missed it I’m sorry.

Do you mean that both use the same cord?

A very poor attempt at an educational video. Try answering clearly the question you set yourself.

A demonstration in the difference in speeds would have been great

I know TB3~4 and USB are different protocols just using the same connector (Type C), what I don't understand is: If a Type C connector supports TB 3, "must" it also support USB 3.2 Gen 2 or Gen 2x2? e.g. is it possible for a Type C connector support TB3 and USB 3.2 Gen 1, not support USB 3.2 Gen 2?

Unfortunately you fail to mention "bit jitter" for thunderbolt. That leaves USB 3 as the only protocol to support ultra high speed transport. Bit jitter as you know is the same reason we use serial and no longer used parallel transfer. Easier to understand in radio. A signal on a wire at 3 Megahertz travels about 95% of the speed of light. A signal on a wire at 300 Megahertz travels about 85% of the speed of light (best case). So slower changing signals will catch up and overtake faster data rates.

This is extremely helpful (cynical) so you got one plug which confuses all. So, what happens when you plug into the wrong port (usb into thunderbolt 3 or thunderbolt 3 into usb-c) does it blow things or just not work, or is it for the purpose of use, interchangeable (ignoring speed differences etc)? So, what happens when you get a person who's hardware is beyond their understanding giving all the signal of failure?

Thanks for your sharing

nice video, i still couldn't found my answer which is ..Well, my laptop ASUS VIVOBOOK S15 has a USB Type-C port that i use to transform data at reasonable speed, am i able to charge my laptop via this port by using a 100w PD type-c cable & a 65w wall adapter ??

I already know everything about it, but after watching this video I'm just confused I don't know if I learned something new or if the point of this was just to make me think I know nothing about something that I actually know

USB is not and has not been needlessly complicated, any complexity it has is very much intentional and valuable addition to the standard. USB is actually one of the LEAST complicated standards we have ever had. If it fits the socket, it will work and is backwards compatible. If it doesn't fit, it is too old of a model for the requirements of the port, and it can't be used. That is pretty simple This feels more like an Apple fanboy/fangirl commercial

When you get to the part that is-- actually informative -- for most people , LET US KNOW, PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Still don't know which is which, but also why there's lighting port connection footage in this video?

This wasn't helpful at all. You made it so complicated.

I'll get into thunderbolt when it's available for PC. I ain't buying apple until they honor right to repair. The nex USB is going to pass thunderbold in speed anyway, so I'll prob just skip thunderbold all together. would go on, but I gotta P.

Thank you very much

That is about as clear as mud, thanks

You forgot to mention that Thunderbolt is the DisplayPort protocol in a USB plug. DisplayPort 2.0 is better than HDMI 2/2.1/2.1a

USB-C will remain the preferred connection, by far, in 99% of devices around the world. Thunderbolt has very few practical advantages, such as for those using external graphic cards, which is a rather minute niche.

So can you plug in peripherals designed for USB into thunderbolt ports? That's all I wanted to know?

very informative, thank you 👍

why this much lengthy., why cant make it short., we dnt want the history from world war 1., just tell wats the diff and end the video., wtf

Let's make this simple. Both are the same port. Usb-c uses a standard communication across Supported devices and ports. Thunderbolt uses a usb-c port but uses a different communication standard. Everybody has a front door with a knob (usb-c) and a deadbolt (thundetbolt). Both the mounting holes (ports) cut in the door are the exact same size and can accept either a knob (usb-c) or deadbolt (thunderbolt) however the door jam (device) has a different depth hole for the deadbolt, the deadbolt will fit the hole for the knob but will not funtion properly because the receiver is not deep enough. vise versa the knob can function properly in the deadbolt hole because it doesn't require a deeper receiver like the deadbolt does. Its not the port its what happens on the other side of the port that's different.

Now, I know....Thank for this vid!

So if you plug a Thunderbolt 3 device into a USB protocol slot it will be speed limited by the available USB protocol of the slot or it will not function at all ? Rhetorical Question. I have not personally used any thunderbolt 3 devices. Just curious.

This video reminded me my seminar presentation as a kid in high school. I had to appear in presentation twice 🥲