Apples main contribution I've heard was the fiber to copper connectivity and the adaptation of the mini DisplayPort connector to become the standard TB connector. Eventually TB will be included in Intel PC motherboards, and I think it has a pretty good chance for wide adaptation. The fact that one cable to a display can handle Thunderbolt, USB 1,2 3, Firewire and the display is pretty sweet. USB 3 is "standard" but really is slow compared to TB, and TB is projected to scale in speed up to 10 times what it does now. Thunderbolt raids are faster than eSata, and with SSD raids showing up eSata becomes a bottleneck, as does USB 3.
As far as Phase, I can see them putting TB into the next incarnation of backs, but I'm not sure they'll revise the current ones. However, the $29 TB to Firewire 800 adapter coming in about a month makes it pretty easy to use a TB computer to tether to a Phase back. I am really tempted to pick up an 11" Macbook Air and try a tech camera again.