[mkautzm]

The problem I foresee with Thunderbolt 3 is that it's serving a use that few people need at a price that no one wants to pay. The price-point issues might disappear with the USB-C compatibility, but even then, the only time I can ever foresee me actually reaching for Thunderbolt is for a display when DP 1.3 isn't an option or when huge data xfers were commonplace.

Unless it competes on price point with USB, I can't see this being any more popular than previous iterations of the protocol.

Maybe that'd change some if Intel actually put it on the enthusiast chipsets, but even then, I think the price point is a pretty big turnoff.

[modfodder]

I don't think it will ever be as ubiquitous as USB, but it doesn't have to be useful. I'm a video editor and thunderbolt has saved me enough time copying files that i'll gladly pay the price. The cost typically gets passed along to clients and at rates of $100/hr or more for a single editor they'll happily pay the extra cost of the drives if it saves a few hours over the life of a project.

[threeseed]

4K displays are going to become the new norm over the coming years. In which case those that use dual monitors (many of us) are going to want Thunderbolt 3 to drive them.

Also having multiple ports of the same type on laptops is going to be far better than the current status quo which is a nightmare for many on a day to day basis (you need which adapter for the work projector again ?).

Thinner, easier to use, more flexible laptops that can support multiple Retina displays seems pretty compelling to me. And you can sure as hell bet Apple will be all over this.