IMac – Make new macbook work on iMac

imacmacbook prothunderbolt

Is there anyway I can make my new Macbook (12 inch) that comes with only USB-C work its display on my iMac? I used to do it with the my previous macbook air, but the new one does not have a thunderbolt port.

I also have the USB-C – HDMI adapter but apparently it is of no use in this scenario.

Best Answer

Thunderbolt Gen 1 and 2 don’t support USB 3.1, Type C or even 3.0 for that matter. An adapter wouldn’t have fixed this problem. However, Apple is releasing Thunderbolt 3 later in 2015. It’s not ready yet, because it’s developed with Intel and now Gen 3’s functionality is tied to Skylake chips – which will replace Broadwell shortly. I know. You’re thinking “But Broadwell just came out!” That’s true, but only because of delays. Now, you may wonder how a new MacBook without a Thunderbolt port or a Skylake chip will support a Thunderbolt Display.

Well, in short it won’t. That is unless Apple releases a firmware update for their Thunderbolt cables. Which they won’t. So it probably won’t support it. Considering the last time they updated it, I think we’ll see an update at WWDC, with a USB C port on the display itself.

http://9to5mac.com/2015/03/09/apples-12-macbook-gets-new-usb-c-power-vga-usb-and-hdmi-adapters/

What might be a solution is an ungodly combination of:

  • StarTech’s female Mini DisplayPort to male DisplayPort adapter ($4.50)

  • A female-to-female DisplayPort coupler ($13.50)

  • a DisplayPort-to-HDMI cable (as little as $6)

  • Apple’s $79 USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter, which has an HDMI port on it in addition to pass-through USB-C power and USB Type A 3.1 for data

http://www.macworld.com/article/2966043/displays/how-to-connect-an-apple-display-to-a-usb-c-macbook.html

Good luck ^^

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