When you see a cable, which doesn’t seem particularly expensive or complex, selling for 149 dollars, your immediate and logical reaction is to think that it is some kind of joke or scam. “For 150 dollars I can buy a cell phone,” I thought. How come less than two meters of copper and a few connectors can cost so much money? Well, they cost them dearlyand he has his explanation.
Lumafield, a company that manufactures tomography scanners, analyzed Apple’s famous 149 euro cable. A 1.8 meter Thunderbolt 4 with USB-C connectors. THE cream of the crop regarding this type of cables. What we wanted to know was clear: is it better than a ten euro cable that you can buy on Amazon?
For what it offers, it’s even cheap
Well, a current user might have to think about it. If you own an iPhone 16 Pro or an iPhone 16 Pro Max – the same for the previous generation – you will have noticed the enormous speed of its charging port. In fact, this allows recording in ProRes and Log directly using an external USB-C device. And of course we want to know if it’s worth it or not. And we have the answer.
Jon Bruner, an engineer at the company who performed the tomograms, shared them on Twitter and explained what makes the difference. According to him, it is “a work of art”. Because? Because the level of complexity of producing something like this in such a small space makes it a challenge for those in Cupertino.
The thread has a whopping 20 independent threads
Compared to other cables, the difference is huge. In Lumafield, they did a scan of three others, and when you put them next to each other, You begin to understand why a cable can cost 149 dollars. Maybe even more. It all depends on the complexity of the production.
Fast charging comes at a price
And be careful because it’s not the fastest cable in the world. Thunderbolt 5 already exists. Intel introduced this new standard a year ago and promises 80 gigabits per second (Gbps) of bidirectional bandwidth and a broadband “boost” capable of reaching up to 120 Gbps
It is clear that this is not a cable for everyone, neither in terms of performance nor price. That is not his intention. We are simply faced a product focused on a very specific consumerand those who need it because they really know what it is, do not hesitate to pay for it. They cost 149 dollars, although you can always look for cheaper alternatives.
Apple Thunderbolt 4 Pro Cable (1.8m) (new model)
*Some prices may have changed since the last review
An older version of this article was originally published on 10/19/2023.
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