Apple now selling braided 3-meter Thunderbolt 4 Pro cable for $159
Alongside the Studio Display and Mac Studio announcement last month, Apple also started selling a new 1. 8-meter Thunderbolt 4 Pro cable. The company also said it would release a 3-meter version of that cable soon, and now it’s officially available to purchase. Apple’s 3-meter Thunderbolt 4 Pro cable will set you back a cool $159…
Apple is doing as much as it can to justify the $159 price point of the new ten-foot Thunderbolt 4 Pro cable. It features a high-quality braided design that is meant to prevent coiling. It supports Thunderbolt 3, Thunderbolt 4, and USB 4 data transfers up to 40Gb/s, and USB 3. 1 Gen 2 transfers up to 10 Gb/s.
Similar to previous Thunderbolt 3 cables, the new cable also supports DisplayPort video with High Bit Rate 3 (HBR3) video output, along with power delivery up to 100W. Here are the full specs of the cable according to Apple:
- Transfer data at up to 40Gb/s
- USB 3. 1 Gen 2 data transfer at up to 10Gb/s
- DisplayPort video output (HBR3)
- Connect to Thunderbolt (USB-C) and USB devices and displays
- Up to 100 watts of power delivery
- Braided design that coils without tangling
- Thunderbolt logo helps it stand out from other cables
- Daisy-chain up to six Thunderbolt 3 devices
The availability of the new 3-meter Thunderbolt 4 Pro cable was first spotted by MacGeneration. The specifications of most Thunderbolt 4 cables you’ll buy are the same, but what sets Apple’s new offering apart is the longer 10-foot design. A teardown also highlighted other differences between Apple’s cable and those from competitors.
In addition, the new Apple Mac Studio does not come with any Thunderbolt cables. The Studio Display does include a Thunderbolt cable, but it is just 1-meter long.
While Apple’s Thunderbolt 4 Pro cables are certainly nice and premium, there are more affordable options on the market. Most notably, OWC sells Thunderbolt 4 cables in three different sizes, and they are cheaper than Apple’s option across the board. You can pick up the 0. 7m cable for $24, the 1m cable for $34, and the 2m cable for $57.
If you think Apple’s cables are worth the premium, or you want one that’s longer than what OWC offers, you can order the 1. 8-meter version for $129 and the 3-meter version for $159. Orders will arrive as soon as next week, while the cables are also widely available from Apple retail stores.