Quote:
Originally Posted by chucker
They’re conceptually different. USB defines device classes (HID for keyboards, mice, etc., mass storage for, y’know, and so on). Thunderbolt is basically just external PCIe. There’s overlap (see, for example, SSDs), but fundamentally Thunderbolt operates at a lower level.
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Was just thinking of something earlier today. It's practically impossible to add Thunderbolt ports to an older Mac.
Because, as chucker points out, it operates at a lower level.
But USB4.2 (or whatever it's called) compatibility could be added into any Mac with PCI slots. Maybe even the old cheese-grater, even if it won't see the new speeds due to the much-older version of PCI slot it uses.