With Thunderbolt Share, Intel is turning the Thunderbolt cable into a way to connect two PCs to one another, sharing files or controlling a PC. Simple, huh? Well, except that Intel isn’t exactly making it available to everybody. Thunderbolt Share is a new Intel specification that connects two PCs via a cable, one to each Thunderbolt port. Alternatively, you can connect it to a Thunderbolt dock instead. Thunderbolt Share offers several options, all at blazing 40Gbps or higher speeds: control another PC, transfer files, sync them, or even migrate one PC to another. Is it a killer sneakernet replacement? Sure seems like it for local networks. The idea? You or your family own more than one PC. If they’re Thunderbolt-capable, Share will unlock a number of handy additional sharing capabilities without needing to set up a workgroup, a network switch, or any other solution. Dock makers, too, will see an advantage: suddenly, Thunderbolt hubs like the Plugable 5-in-1 Thunderbolt Hub (USB4-HUB3A), part of our list of the best Thunderbolt docking stations, won’t just be designed primarily for external displays with Thunderbolt ports. There’s just one thing. Intel didn’t take the simple route and just make Thunderbolt Share part of the Thunderbolt spec. Instead, Thunderbolt Share will be a software app Intel will license to PC and dock makers. And it won’t work for legacy Thunderbolt 3 or USB devices either — not officially, anyway. In short, you’ll have to keep track of which devices are Thunderbolt Share-capable, because without one, Thunderbolt Share won’t work. A special logo, however, will help.
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