The latest Linux hardware support effort for Intel Meteor Lake is Linux 6.1 Thunderbolt support, and the patch is currently queued in the Linux 6.1 merge window.

Thunderbolt Thunderbolt is a technology used to connect peripherals to a computer’s hardware interface, and one Thunderbolt port can replace all other USB-C ports on the system.

Thunderbolt combines PCI Express data transmission technology and DisplayPort display technology, which can transmit data and video signals at the same time, and each channel provides bidirectional 10Gbps bandwidth, and the latest Thunderbolt 4 speed reaches 40Gbps.

This patch confirms that Meteor Lake has the same integrated Thunderbolt/USB4 controller as Alder Lake and Raptor Lake. Meteor Lake just needs a new set of device IDs, and it uses the same Thunderbolt/USB4 driver paths as before.

The patch is in the “Next” branch of the Linux 6.1 kernel, as Meteor Lake isn’t expected to launch until 2023, and Intel has been beefing up their open-source Linux driver work in recent weeks in preparation for the release of this 14th Gen Core platform. Preparations such as Linux 6.1 Intel Meteor Lake ISH support.