Plugable: New MacBook Pros are incompatible with some early Thunderbolt 3 devices

In a blog post published on Thursday, aftermarket parts manufacturer Plugable has revealed that Apple's new MacBook Pro laptops are apparently incompatible with some early Thunderbolt 3 devices.

Plugable – which manufacturers docking stations, adapters and other peripherals – specifically said in the blog post that certain “design decisions” taken by Apple for the late-2016 MacBook Pro hardware prevent its communication with Thunderbolt 3 devices which run Texas Instruments controller chips.

In disclosing the incompatibility of new MacBook Pros with Thunderbolt 3 devices using Texas Instruments controller chips, Plugable said that the disclosure is rooted in the fact that its TBT3-DP2X and TBT3-HDMI2X graphics adapters were incompatible with new MacBook Pros because they run a controller chip from Texas Instruments.

Plugable further added that the incompatibility of new MacBook Pros with Thunderbolt 3 devices running Texas Instruments controller chips has prompted the company to delay its forthcoming Docking Station till the time it works out a compatibility solution.

Meanwhile, in response to Plugable’s blog post, Apple said in a statement released to AppleInsider: "While we have no comment on Plugable's specific complaint, products using the newest Thunderbolt chipsets, with up-to-date drivers, will have no difficulty connecting to any 2016 MacBook Pro."