Mini DisplayPort and Thunderbolt are two separate but related ports, though they share certain similarities and some usage overlap. Here are the details.
Comparing The Two Ports
Despite some overlap in usage, Mini DisplayPort and Thunderbolt are two distinct port technologies.
Mini DisplayPort
Mini DisplayPort is a smaller version of Apple's DisplayPort interface. It is mainly used to connect external displays and projectors to Apple computers like MacBooks and iMacs. It offers video, audio and data transfer.
Mini DisplayPort uses the same DisplayPort protocol and capabilities as standard DisplayPort, but in a smaller and more portable form factor suited to laptop computers.
Mini DisplayPort supports resolutions up to 2560x1600 at 60Hz and transfer rates up to 10.8 Gbps. It can drive one or more external displays.
Thunderbolt
Thunderbolt is port technology developed by Intel that combines PCI Express and DisplayPort capabilities into a single input/output interface.
Thunderbolt ports support high-speed data transfer, video output and can be daisy chained to connect multiple peripherals using a single port.
Thunderbolt ports offer faster transfer speeds than Mini DisplayPort, with Thunderbolt 3 capable of up to 40 Gbps data transfer.
Thunderbolt can drive one or more high resolution displays at speeds up to 4K at 60Hz.
Similarities and Differences
While Mini DisplayPort and Thunderbolt serve different purposes, they do share the following similarities:
- Both can output video and audio to displays
- Both use the DisplayPort protocol to output video signals
- Many devices, like MacBooks, have Thunderbolt ports that are also compatible with Mini DisplayPort
The key differences between Mini DisplayPort and Thunderbolt are:
- Mini DisplayPort is mainly for visual output, Thunderbolt is for data transfer and connectivity
- Thunderbolt offers much faster data transfer speeds
- Thunderbolt can connect more types of devices due to support for PCI Express
- Thunderbolt ports are backward compatible with Mini DisplayPort
So in essence, Mini DisplayPort and Thunderbolt do have some overlap - a Mini DisplayPort can be used as a Thunderbolt port - but they were designed for slightly different purposes and use cases.
