Tag: Thunderbolt 2

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MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Late 2013)

At the time of its release, the MacBook Pro 15-inch with Retina Display was a solid “Pro” choice, but an iterative update from its predecessor with no new design elements, major features, or new technologies. This MacBook Pro used Intel’s Core i7 “Haswell/Crystalwell” processor with four cores. This example is the 2.0GHz model, and a 2.3GHz was also available.

The 15.4-inch Retina Display was LED-backlit display with 2880 x 1800 resolution (220ppi). The laptop measured 0.71 inch (1.8 cm) thick, and 14.13 inches (35.89 cm) wide x 9.73 inches (24.71 cm) tall. It weighed 4.46 pounds (2.02 kg).

According to Apple, the physical ports included:

  • MagSafe 2 power port
  • 2 Thunderbolt 2 ports (up to 20 Gbps)
  • 2 USB 3 ports (up to 5 Gbps)
  • HDMI port
  • Headphone port
  • SDXC card slot

Wireless technologies included 802.11ac and Bluetooth 4.0.

The full-size keyboard was backlit and used an ambient light sensor. Apple advertised the battery life as 8 hours, and it charged using an 85W MagSafe 2 Power Adapter.

Sources: Apple, EveryMac

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Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter (2017)

This arguably confusing adapter used a “male” USB-C connector and a “female” Thunderbolt port (mini-HDMI) to allow some (but not all) data and display configurations (even if the ports were present on devices).

The Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter connected Thunderbolt and Thunderbolt 2 devices (e.g., external hard drives/Thunderbolt docks  to Thunderbolt 3 [USB-C]/USB 4 ports) on a Mac. It could also be used as a bidirectional adapter to connect “Thunderbolt 3 devices to a Mac with a Thunderbolt or Thunderbolt 2 port and macOS Sierra or later.” It could also “be used to connect Thunderbolt-enabled displays — such as the Apple Thunderbolt Display and LG Thunderbolt 2 displays — to any of the Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) / USB 4 ports on your Mac. However, using this adapter with an Apple Thunderbolt Display requires a power source, because the display does not provide power through the adapter.”

The adapter did not support “DisplayPort displays like the Apple LED Cinema Display or third-party DisplayPort and Mini DisplayPort displays.”

On August 16, 2021, Macworld, warned in their article, “How to connect an external display” that “This one can eat up a chunk of your budget, because there are so many different types of display connectors. Be prepared to buy several adapters.”

Sources: Apple, Macworld

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Mac mini (Late 2014)

The Mac mini Late 2014 included a Core i5 “Haswell” 2.6 GHz Intel processor (with two independent cores on a single chip), 8 GB of SDRAM, and a 1 TB hard drive. Ports included two Thunderbolt 2 ports, four USB 3.0 ports, an HDMI port, Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11ac Wi-Fi/Bluetooth 4.0, and an SDXC card slot.

This and all Mac mini systems ship without a display, keyboard, or mouse. This model’s case is primarily aluminum with a black plastic back and base.

All Mac mini systems I have owned have served as my iTunes server allowing access to iTunes music/Apple Music, streaming video content, saved digital movies, and other media. This was the first Mac mini I owned with a direct HDMI connection to my primary home TV (others used VGA and DVI connections).

Source: EveryMac.com