Intel Thunderbolt Share app clones Mac feature, then says not available for Mac

Intel has proudly announced Thunderbolt Share, a way to connect two Windows PCs together to allow one to control the other, as well as sharing files and screen-sharing. The company says it doesn’t yet work on a Mac – despite the fact that it borrowed the feature from Macs in the first place …

The Verge reports on the new app.

It’s a proprietary app that Intel will be licensing to laptop, desktop, and accessory manufacturers to bundle with new hardware. Install it on two Thunderbolt 4 or 5 computers, connect them with a Thunderbolt cable, and you should be able to share your mouse, keyboard, screens, storage, and other USB peripherals; drag and drop files at Thunderbolt speeds; and sync data between them.

The company is charging an extra fee to any Windows PC brand which wants to include the feature, and says that it doesn’t work on a Mac.

Only, as Macworld points out, there isn’t any need for it on a Mac.

If the features of Thunderbolt Share sound familiar, it’s because macOS already supports them. With File Sharing and Screen Sharing turned on in macOS Sonoma’s System Settings (General > Sharing) you can connect two M-series Macs via Thunderbolt, adjust the Network system setting to Thunderbolt Bridge, and use one Mac to control the other. I could do this easily between an M3 Pro MacBook Pro and an M3 MacBook Air. Apple also has target disk mode for older Intel Macs where the secondary Mac appears as a storage device on the primary Mac.

So Mac users have about as much use for Intel’s shiny new app as they do for the company’s chips …

Photo: Apple