Despite Apple’s lack of enthusiasm about USB 3.0 in the past, a new report from VR-Zone claims that Apple is still exploring adding USB 3.0 to their future computers alongside Thunderbolt.
Apple still supports USB 2 in their existing Macs, with the main improvement in USB 3 being that it can support much higher transfer speeds. Many have been disappointed by Apple’s failure to adopt USB 3, but if VR-Zone’s report is correct, the new standard might make it to future Macs whether Intel implements support into their chipsets or not.
It’s unclear exactly when or how the inclusion of USB 3.0 might come to the Mac, but it seems that it could easily happen before Intel adds USB 3 support to their chipsets.
The traditional belief has been that Apple has held off on USB 3.0 due to Intel’s lack of USB 3 support in their logic boards, as well as the Thunderbolt standard that Apple and Intel have come up with, but Intel has since announced that their upcoming 2012 “Ivy Bridge” platform will support both USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt, and Intel views the two technologies as complementary.
Considering VR-Zone’s belief that Apple will implement USB 3.0 before Intel’s chipsets are ready, and the fact that Intel’s “Ivy Bridge” chipsets won’t be ready until mid-2012, the remaining question is in how Apple will implement USB 3.0.
It’s possible that the Mac Pro, which is due for an update, could be the first USB 3.0 candidate. It’s also possible that the recently rumored “radically new” line of Macs due for release later this year could introduce the new standard.
Keep in mind that this is all just speculation at this point – we’ll keep you updated when and if we hear anything more about this.
