The main reason Intel keeps pushing Thunderbolt is performance. While USB 3.1 offers up to 10Gbps of bandwidth, Intel claims its Thunderbolt 3 will be able to do 40Gbps. The first Thunderbolt 3 products are expected by the end of the year.
In the biggest advancement since its inception, Thunderboltâ„¢ 3 delivers one computer port that connects to Thunderbolt devices, every display and billions of USB devices. For the first time, a single cable now provides four times the data and twice the video bandwidth of any other cable, while also supplying power. It's unrivaled for new uses, such as 4K video, single-cable docks with charging, external graphics and built-in 10 GbE networking. Initial products are expected to start shipping before the end of this year, with more expected in 2016.