Intel has announced that the next generation of Thunderbolt, codenamed 'Falcon Ridge', will be capable of 20Gbps bidirectional transfer, essentially doubling the performance of the current generation and allowing for the simultaneous transfer and display of 4K resolution video.
The company also promises compatibility with components (cables, connectors, etc.) currently on the market and availability in 2014. Until then, we expect a small upgrade to the current generation of Thunderbolt codenamed 'Redwood Ridge' as part of the Haswell processors.
What does this mean for Apple, though? This technology could enable the first generation of Retina Thunderbolt displays. For example, a 23-inch 4K display at 3840×2160 that would run at twice the resolution of 1920×1080 pixels and be powered by these new ports on future MacBook Pros, iMacs, and Mac Pros (?).
Dimitrios Georgoulas @ GreekAppleNews
