Although it has implemented no less than 4 Thunderbolt 3 ports in MacBook Pro, the Apple company does not offer everyone the maximum bandwidth that can be used. More precisely, in a document published yesterday, the Apple company claims that only two of the Thunderbolt 3 ports work at maximum capacity, two having limited functionality.
This limitation applies only to MacBook Pro 13 inches with Touch Bar, in the case of this product the Thunderbolt 3 ports on the right side of the laptop have reduced performance. Apple claims that the PCI Express bandwidth offered by these ports is lower than those on the left side of the laptop, recommending connecting high-speed devices to the latter.
Of course, Apple does not say how much the bandwidth is reduced, so we will find out only after the first products are bought by its customers. Only then will we know if the performances are much lower at the ports on the right side compared to those on the left side, the difference should be quite large, based on the information provided.
The good part is that in the case of USB-C (3.1) there are no limitations in terms of bandwidth, it allows data transfer at speeds of up to 10 Gbps. Any kind of compatible accessories can be connected to this port, and users will enjoy extremely fast transfer speeds, regardless of what they are doing.
"Late-2016 MacBook Pro models vary slightly in the data speeds they provide to each Thunderbolt 3 port. MacBook Pro (15-inch, Late 2016) delivers full Thunderbolt 3 performance on all four ports. MacBook Pro (13-inch, Late 2016, Four Thunderbolt 3 Ports) supports Thunderbolt 3 at full performance using the two left-hand ports. The two right-hand ports deliver Thunderbolt 3 functionality, but have reduced PCI Express bandwidth. MacBook Pro (13-inch, Late 2016, Two Thunderbolt 3 Ports) delivers full Thunderbolt 3 performance on both ports.”
