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Apple ditches last Intel chip for USB 4

Since Apple switched from Intel’s x86 platform to its self-developed M-series ARM architecture chips on the Mac series, not only Intel, but also AMD, which used to be responsible for the Mac’s independent GPU, has no longer had any dealings with Apple. Although it has little impact on the market share of x86, it still lost a lot of revenue for these two x86 manufacturers. Although there is no cooperation on the surface, Apple still uses Intel chips inside the fuselage in order to support the Thunderbolt protocol interface.

USB 4 remains the same, but Thunderbolt 4 is downgraded to Thunderbolt 3

We can see from the recently released M2 Macbook Air and Macbook Pro that Apple has adopted the USB 4 interface on these two models, as well as the 14/16-inch Macbook Pro and Mac Studio released earlier, which shows that Apple intends to start from All three positioning products of low, medium and high have embraced this new standard.

However, Apple has always been a chicken thief in the parameter, and this time it is also reflected in the USB interface. In the M1 Pro, M1 Max and M1 Ultra product lines, the USB interface given by Apple is directly described as Thunderbolt 4, and it also supports USB 4 with a maximum speed of 40Gb/s. However, on the latest M2 product, Apple changed the rhetoric and became the Thunderbolt/USB 4 interface, but the one supported here is not Thunderbolt 4, but Thunderbolt 3.

Thunderbolt 3/USB 4 port for M2 series Mac/Apple

Although the maximum speed of the two is the same, there are still gaps in some aspects. For the Mac ecosystem, it is mainly reflected in the number of external monitors. The Mac with Thunderbolt 4 interface supports the output of more than two 6K 60Hz monitors. A 3-port Mac can only support up to one. Additionally, Thunderbolt 4 has double the minimum speed requirements compared to Thunderbolt 3 when connecting a Thunderbolt-spec storage device.

In fact, such a configuration of Thunderbolt 3 has been used for Mac products equipped with the basic version of the M1 chip. But this time, the switch from Thunderbolt 4 to Thunderbolt 3 reveals that Apple finally intends to cut a clean slate with Intel on the chip.

Goodbye Intel?

With the official release of the M2 chip Macbook, the related dismantling will naturally appear together. When iFixit disassembled the Macbook with M2 chip, it found that Apple used two Intel Thunderbolt 4 Retimer chips JHL8040R from the entire M1 series, and was replaced by two custom USB 4 Retimer chips U09PY3, which also means Apple’s new Mac product line The last Intel chip disappeared.

Intel JHL8040R chip on M1 series Macs / eGPU.io

The Retimer chip is mainly used to improve the high-speed signal quality from the CPU to the interface. Since the USB 4 host device requires the Retimer chip, the Intel Thunderbolt 4 Retimer used by Apple has been compatible with USB 4, so it continues to be used. However, why the chip equipped with JHL8040R Retimer has both Thunderbolt 3 and Thunderbolt 4, which may be related to Apple’s own design.

Like Intel’s mobile processors after the 11th generation, Apple’s M-series chips also choose to integrate Thunderbolt controllers, instead of using Intel’s own JHL8X40 series Thunderbolt 4 like desktop processors, data cables and other Thunderbolt hosts/devices. controller. Apple may have made some changes to the integrated Thunderbolt controller, which caused the same retimer chip to have different interface specifications.

As for why the new U09PY3 chip only supports Thunderbolt 3, it is unknown. I can only give my own guess here. USB 4 is compatible with Thunderbolt 3, which is also the result of Intel contributing the Thunderbolt 3 standard to the USB-IF organization and canceling the patent fee, but at the same time, the certification of Thunderbolt 4 is still firmly in Intel’s hands.

After all, Intel’s own Thunderbolt controller is the Thunderbolt 4 with a complete ecosystem, such as DMA protection based on the VT-d architecture, support for external graphics cards, etc. These are features that the Thunderbolt interface of Apple’s M series does not support. Therefore, the U09PY3 chip, like other USB 4 Retimer chips on the market, may still be positioned on USB 4. If the Thunderbolt 4 Retimer chip is to be launched separately, it will go to Intel’s certification.

USB 4 Retimer chip layout has begun

In addition to the Intel JHL8040R mentioned above and the U09PY3 chip of unknown manufacturer customized by Apple, some manufacturers have begun the layout of the USB 4 Retimer chip, breaking the monopoly of Intel, and entering the host, notebook, mobile phone and data cable market.

For example, some laptops equipped with AMD Ryzen 6000 Rembrandt APU have begun to support USB 4, and they have used the Matterhorn series of USB 4 Retimer chips from Swedish startup Kandou. Matterhorn supports USB 4 Gen2 and Gen3 signals (20 and 40Gbps respectively), DP 1.4 and Thunderbolt 3/2, and currently has two different package sizes, KB8001 (4x4mm FCCSP) and KB8002 (5x5mm FCCSP).

At the beginning of this year, Kandou announced that it has found foundry and packaging and testing for Matterhorn, and officially started mass production in December last year, striving to meet the needs of customers in 2022. According to Kandou, Matterhorn is the only USB 4 retimer available on the market that supports an all-SoC platform, and has been used by five of the top six PC OEMs in the world.

PS8830 / Spectra Technology

Pray Technology also launched the PS8830, a Retimer chip that supports USB 4, DP2.0 and Thunderbolt 3 at the same time, in a 6x6mm BGA package. Considering that the latest DP2.0 is supported, development costs and time can be reduced for OEMs supporting this standard. However, the latest news of the product is that it has begun to send samples, and it is still unknown whether it has been mass-produced and shipped.

In addition to the above two, Nuvoton Technology also has corresponding USB 4 Retimer products, such as the USB 4 Retimer chip KM864742 for cables and other devices, which also supports DP and Thunderbolt protocols. In addition to the device side, Nuvoton seems to be preparing a USB 4 Retimer chip on the host side.

For these Retimer chip designers, the biggest market at present may still be on the AMD platform, especially for AMD notebook products in the next few years. After all, Intel will still stick to its own master control and Retimer solutions, and Apple also chose a customized solution. . As for when ARM chips other than Apple will be able to support USB 4, especially SoCs for mobile phones and tablets, it depends on how the ARM subsequent controller and Retimer develop.

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