Thunderbolt vs. USB-C: What's the Difference?
Note: WSD asks for a mention of 2019's still-not-available USB4, which is supposed to merge the interfaces, somewhere and link to a USB4 article
Need to charge a mobile device, or connect a peripheral to a PC or Mac? You'll probably need to use some flavor of USB port or a Thunderbolt port.
In their newest iterations, however, choosing between the two—or just telling them apart—can be confusing. That's because of the emergence of USB Type-C (usually called USB-C), Thunderbolt 3, and Thunderbolt 4 interfaces in recent years. These three specifications share identically shaped connectors and cables that are physically compatible with one another. But laptop, desktop, and device manufacturers don't always provide labels that help you easily tell which is which.
Instead of leaving you to guess, let's walk through the differences between Thunderbolt and USB-C, and explain which one you should use depending on which device you need to connect.
The Universal Serial Bus is an industry-standard connector for transmitting both data and power on a single cable. The USB-C connector looks similar to the older micro-USB connector at first glance, though it's more oval in shape and slightly thicker to accommodate its best feature: flippability. Unlike the rectangular USB Type-A, a USB-C connector has no right side up or upside down; you just line it up and plug it in. The standard cables also have the same connector on each end so you needn't wonder which end goes where.
The USB-C connector was developed by the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF), the group of companies that has developed, certified, and shepherded the USB standard over the years. There are more than 700 USB-IF member companies, including Apple, Dell, HP, Intel,
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