#Extended display for mac windows 10 update
#Extended display for mac windows 10 Pc

You could, as mentioned, buy a new PC that supports Thunderbolt and – if you are lucky – use it with your Apple Thunderbolt screen. I assume the next MacBook will, if there is one. I suspect it will still leave most consumers confused.įor example, Apple’s latest £1,049/£1,299 MacBook has a USB-C port that doesn’t support Thunderbolt so it doesn’t work with Apple’s Thunderbolt display. It remains to be seen whether this will increase Thunderbolt’s adoption, and by how much. However, some USB-C ports will double as Thunderbolt 3 ports, while all Thunderbolt 3 ports will work as USB 3.1 ports. The next version of Thunderbolt, Thunderbolt 3, will use the same USB-C connector, instead of the previous miniDisplayPort.Ī USB-C port is, essentially, a souped-up USB 3.1 port. Intel has returned to the market with USB Type-C, which uses a new reversible connector that plugs in either way up. It didn’t.īut that’s not the end of the story. Presumably, Apple hoped that Intel’s backing would preclude Thunderbolt from suffering the same fate. Intel said that USB would remain the “mainstream” input/output connection for PCs, and that Thunderbolt was “complementary”.Īpple had ended up making its (excellent) FireWire connection an open industry standard to try to get more support for it, but it failed. The PC manufacturers had rejected Light Peak because fibre optics cost too much, and Thunderbolt looked like a good compromise.Īs Intel pointed out way back then, Thunderbolt wasn’t the new USB, it was the new FireWire (another connector that Apple fitted to everything, then dropped). Thunderbolt appeared the following year, in a version co-developed with Apple, but running over copper wires. Thunderbolt was originally developed by Intel, and it was called Light Peak, partly because it used a fibre optic cable. Yes, at the time, we complained that the Cinema Display’s DisplayPort didn’t support older Macs and MacBooks either, but at least it worked – and still works – with PCs running Windows.Īs things stand, there’s not much incentive for Windows PC manufacturers to worry about supporting an £899 Apple monitor.

The same 27in screen used to be available with a DisplayPort connector – it was called the Apple Cinema Display – but it was discontinued in 2011. Indeed, Apple doesn’t seem to offer a screen for users with older Macs that don’t have Thunderbolt ports. In this case, unfortunately, Apple only supports Thunderbolt and nothing else. Monitor manufacturers usually support more than one standard to increase the chance that their screens will work with more devices, though adaptor cables can sometimes bridge the gap. HDMI is a licensed consumer electronics connection designed for flat screen TVs and things that connect to them: Blu-ray players, games consoles, PCs etc. VGA are DVI legacy computer standards that have been replaced by DisplayPort. The more popular options include VGA, DVI, HDMI, and DisplayPort. Thunderbolt is one way of connecting a computer to a monitor, but it’s not very common.

But this is not guaranteed, and it won’t be soon enough for you. Also, it might work in the future, if the widespread adoption of the new USB Type-C port makes Thunderbolt more popular. Your Thunderbolt display should work with a PC that has a Thunderbolt port, but I wouldn’t buy one without a guarantee that it will work. Generally, the answer is no, but it could be yes or maybe. Question: Can my 27in Apple Thunderbolt screen work with a PC? Paul

#Extended display for mac windows 10 update

Now I need a hardware update and, frustrated by the limitations of Office 365 on Mac, I am considering switching back. A long-term PC user, I went Apple eight years ago.