Apple Revamps Thunderbolt Cable Lineup with Lower Pricing, Shorter Cable Option

MacRumors · Jan 9, 2013, 03:35 PM

As noted by 9to5Mac, Apple today revamped its Thunderbolt cable lineup, dropping the price of the existing 2-meter cable from $49 to $39 and adding a new 0.5-meter cable priced at $29.

Thunderbolt cables remain relatively expensive due to the electronics included inside the cables to manage the multiple protocols supported by the standard. The complexity and expense has both slowed deployment of Thunderbolt peripherals and limited support mostly to high-end devices capable of absorbing the high cost premium.

Thunderbolt cables have so far been limited to traditional copper cabling, but vendors are just beginning production on optical cables for the standard. The optical cables will allow for much longer cable lengths, but will not be able to provide power to peripherals as copper cables can.

Article Link: Apple Revamps Thunderbolt Cable Lineup with Lower Pricing, Shorter Cable Option

darkshadow121 · Jan 9, 2013, 03:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MacRumors

Image

As noted by 9to5Mac, Apple today revamped its Thunderbolt cable lineup, dropping the price of the existing 2-meter cable from $49 to $39 and adding a new 0.5-meter cable priced at $29.

Image

Thunderbolt cables remain relatively expensive due to the electronics included inside the cables to manage the multiple protocols supported by the standard. The complexity and expense has both slowed deployment of Thunderbolt peripherals and limited support mostly to high-end devices capable of absorbing the high cost premium.

Thunderbolt cables have so far been limited to traditional copper cabling, but vendors are just beginning production on optical cables for the standard. The optical cables will allow for much longer cable lengths, but will not be able to provide power to peripherals as copper cables can.

Article Link: Apple Revamps Thunderbolt Cable Lineup with Lower Pricing, Shorter Cable Option

This has been available for about a week. Come on guys.

Mike MA · Jan 9, 2013, 03:37 PM

Miscalculated?

ollyb · Jan 9, 2013, 03:39 PM

Cool. I'll buy one of these to connect to my.... nothing.

camnchar · Jan 9, 2013, 03:39 PM

I'll stick with copper, thanks.

topmounter · Jan 9, 2013, 03:39 PM

The guy at Best Buy told me the gold-plated ones are at least 100x faster.

bbeagle · Jan 9, 2013, 03:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike MA

Miscalculated?

These trolls are ingenious. Good or bad, everything can be spun to be bad.

sammich · Jan 9, 2013, 03:42 PM

Don't the active ends of the cable just manage the cable itself? It's the controllers in the devices that handle the data 'protocols'.

AFAIK the ends of the cable enable the high speed and low latencies by adapting to the electrical characteristics of the copper. That's all. Just like the newly announced optical cables, all the ends do is manage their medium.

D.T. · Jan 9, 2013, 03:44 PM

Excellent, now the Belkin Thunderbolt box is only $299 + $29

charlieegan3 · Jan 9, 2013, 03:45 PM

Shorter cable, same massive markup.

jessica. · Jan 9, 2013, 03:46 PM

Gee awesome. A $40 cable, still.

chr1s60 · Jan 9, 2013, 03:46 PM

So basically one is still $10 overpriced and the other is $20 overpriced?

charlieegan3 · Jan 9, 2013, 03:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by topmounter

The guy at Best Buy told me the gold-plated ones are at least 100x faster.

Sounds like a bargain then!

krravi · Jan 9, 2013, 03:48 PM

USB 3.0 put the pressure on TB. Good! When there are choices, the consumer wins!

LimeiBook86 · Jan 9, 2013, 03:48 PM

Wonderful news!! Now when I finally buy a Thunderbolt device the cost of the cable won't be as much. Good to have the option of length too, especially with these docks coming out.

coder12 · Jan 9, 2013, 03:51 PM

I just bought one last week for $49 for use on the road and it was worth it. Hopefully we'll see some more accessories now that the cables are getting cheaper.

NATO · Jan 9, 2013, 03:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by topmounter

The guy at Best Buy told me the gold-plated ones are at least 100x faster.

It's gold-plated optical cables at £50 (honest) I find most hilarious...

eicarr · Jan 9, 2013, 03:53 PM

Thunderbolt seemed cool but is obviously DOA. Can't wait for the new faster USB 3 on my next mac.

bazinga!! · Jan 9, 2013, 03:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mike ma

miscalculated?

lol!

mrsir2009 · Jan 9, 2013, 04:00 PM

Judging by this... How much will the 10 metre one cost?

Mr. Gates · Jan 9, 2013, 04:01 PM

$9.99 would be fair.

WildCowboy · Jan 9, 2013, 04:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by darkshadow121

This has been available for about a week. Come on guys.

If you've known about it for a week, it would have been helpful if you'd told us about it at any point.

unplugme71 · Jan 9, 2013, 04:08 PM

I wonder if I can write a letter to Apple that since I'm not using thunderbolt or plan to use it if I could get a refund for the unused portion sold to me on my MBP. Hmm

camelphace · Jan 9, 2013, 04:09 PM

Just what I need, an even SHORTER cable.

Where is the option of a longer one?

Drinahn · Jan 9, 2013, 04:10 PM

Chill out peasants. It's only 50 bucks. If it offends you that much go buy something else.

Jan 9, 2013, 03:35 PM	#1
MacRumors macrumors bot Join Date: Apr 2001	Apple Revamps Thunderbolt Cable Lineup with Lower Pricing, Shorter Cable Option As noted by 9to5Mac, Apple today revamped its Thunderbolt cable lineup, dropping the price of the existing 2-meter cable from $49 to $39 and adding a new 0.5-meter cable priced at $29. Thunderbolt cables remain relatively expensive due to the electronics included inside the cables to manage the multiple protocols supported by the standard. The complexity and expense has both slowed deployment of Thunderbolt peripherals and limited support mostly to high-end devices capable of absorbing the high cost premium. Thunderbolt cables have so far been limited to traditional copper cabling, but vendors are just beginning production on optical cables for the standard. The optical cables will allow for much longer cable lengths, but will not be able to provide power to peripherals as copper cables can. Article Link: Apple Revamps Thunderbolt Cable Lineup with Lower Pricing, Shorter Cable Option
	0

Jan 9, 2013, 03:37 PM	#3
Mike MA macrumors 6502 Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Germany, Europe	Miscalculated? __________________ Macbook Air 13" SSD (late 2010) - Macbook Pro 15" (late 2008) - Apple TV2 - iPhone 4
	3

Jan 9, 2013, 03:39 PM	#4
ollyb macrumors member Join Date: Jun 2011	Cool. I'll buy one of these to connect to my.... nothing.
	63

Jan 9, 2013, 03:39 PM	#6
topmounter macrumors 65816 Join Date: Jun 2009	The guy at Best Buy told me the gold-plated ones are at least 100x faster. __________________ iLoveDrones.com
	43

Jan 9, 2013, 03:45 PM	#10
charlieegan3 macrumors 68020 Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: U.K	Shorter cable, same massive markup. __________________ www.charlieegan3.com
	26

Jan 9, 2013, 03:39 PM	#5
camnchar macrumors 6502 Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: SLC, Utah	I'll stick with copper, thanks.
	2

Jan 9, 2013, 03:42 PM	#8
sammich macrumors Demi-God Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: The same place as my missing avatar.	Don't the active ends of the cable just manage the cable itself? It's the controllers in the devices that handle the data 'protocols'. AFAIK the ends of the cable enable the high speed and low latencies by adapting to the electrical characteristics of the copper. That's all. Just like the newly announced optical cables, all the ends do is manage their medium.
	0

Jan 9, 2013, 03:44 PM	#9
D.T. macrumors 68000 Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Vilano Beach, FL	Excellent, now the Belkin Thunderbolt box is only $299 + $29
	12

Jan 9, 2013, 03:46 PM	#11
jessica. macrumors Nehalem Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Wrong girl from the right side of the tracks	Gee awesome. A $40 cable, still. __________________ Because I'm an ahole.
	10

Jan 9, 2013, 03:46 PM	#12
chr1s60 macrumors 65816 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: California	So basically one is still $10 overpriced and the other is $20 overpriced? __________________ 15" MacBook Pro - iPad - White iPad mini - iPod Classic - iPod Shuffle - iPod Nano - White/Silver iPhone 5
	17

Jan 9, 2013, 03:48 PM	#14
krravi macrumors 6502a Join Date: Nov 2010	USB 3.0 put the pressure on TB. Good! When there are choices, the consumer wins! __________________ 27" iMac - 3.4 Ghz Core i7,32 GB RAM, 1TB. Many iPad's,iPhone 4s,Apple TV,rMBP 2012 15" 2.6 Ghz 512 GB 16GB(refurb),MBA 2012,2.0 Ghz,8,256
	5

Jan 9, 2013, 03:48 PM	#15
LimeiBook86 macrumors 604 Join Date: May 2002 Location: Hanging around in NJ with his cutie. :)	Wonderful news!! Now when I finally buy a Thunderbolt device the cost of the cable won't be as much. Good to have the option of length too, especially with these docks coming out. __________________ My 'How to Draw Fun Animals' iBook is now on iTunes "Just you try and stop me..." My Site Thrift Fails Tech Blog
	1

Jan 9, 2013, 03:51 PM	#16
coder12 macrumors 6502 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Fargo, ND: The greatest city on Earth.	I just bought one last week for $49 for use on the road and it was worth it. Hopefully we'll see some more accessories now that the cables are getting cheaper. __________________ Go Bison!
	0

Jan 9, 2013, 03:53 PM	#18
eicarr macrumors newbie Join Date: Dec 2005	Doa Thunderbolt seemed cool but is obviously DOA. Can't wait for the new faster USB 3 on my next mac.
	9

Jan 9, 2013, 04:00 PM	#20
mrsir2009 macrumors 604 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Wellington, New Zealand	Judging by this... How much will the 10 metre one cost? __________________ How to Prevent your Mac from Overheating
	0

Jan 9, 2013, 04:01 PM	#21
Mr. Gates macrumors 68000 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: --Redmond --------- ----------------Washington---	$9.99 would be fair. __________________ This is a RUMOR site For speculation and discussion.Not a Fan-Club. Just because we are interested in Apple rumors it doesn't mean we should be frothing at the mouth with Apple rabid comments.
	8

Jan 9, 2013, 04:08 PM	#23
unplugme71 macrumors 6502 Join Date: May 2011	I wonder if I can write a letter to Apple that since I'm not using thunderbolt or plan to use it if I could get a refund for the unused portion sold to me on my MBP. Hmm __________________ Mid-2010 15" MBP ML, 64GB iPhone 5 (AT&T), 64GB iPad Mini (AT&T), 8GB iPod Nano
	5

Jan 9, 2013, 04:09 PM	#24
camelphace macrumors newbie Join Date: Oct 2011	Just what I need, an even SHORTER cable. Where is the option of a longer one?
	2

Jan 9, 2013, 04:10 PM	#25
Drinahn macrumors member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Aussie in London	Chill out peasants. It's only 50 bucks. If it offends you that much go buy something else.
	17

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