Apple Now Selling Thunderbolt 5 Cable for M4 Mac Mini and MacBook Pro

[bradman83]

When talking about Thunderbolt 5 I wish MacRumors would put the necessary asterisk that the 120 Gbps transfer speed is a special use case meant for displays. Thunderbolt 5 is 80/80 bidirectionally (40 Gbps across 4 lanes with two lanes uplink and two lanes downlink). For certain display modes it can switch to 120/40 up/down speeds, converting the third lane from a downlink to an uplink. This is not intended for data transfer.

 

[Victor Mortimer]

I agree. I wish there is a reliable brand on Amazon. I guess maybe OWC cables are good and compatible like Apple Cables?

OWC cables are at least as good as Apple cables. There's also the Cable Matters one that I linked above, less than half Apple's price gouge.

 

[diego.caraballo]

I am pretty sure I read that Apple’s 1m Thunderbolt 4 Cables will support Thunderbolt 5. The passive Thunderbolt 4 and Thunderbolt 5 cables are the same. It is only the active Thunderbolt 4 cables that are not compatible with Thunderbolt 5.

Unfortunately the 1M cable (passive) has a built-in chip.
This probably will used to identify the cable and limit the speed, otherwise it should be identical.

 

[turbineseaplane]

I remember one Youtuber (Rene Ritchie?) said they threw away all their cables and just got the latest standard so there would be no confusion.

That's quite a waste of money .. and just a waste in general .. to do things that way

 

[madsci954]

I wonder if Apple will launch a 240W charger with their MacBooks tomorrow.

 

[dannys1]

As usual, Apple is charging ridiculous prices for cables.

No thanks, I'll do what I always do and ONLY buy 3rd party.

You've got to be nuts to pay Apple price for a cable.

To be fair there aren't many choices for Thunderbolt 5 cables at the minute. Cable Matters have one (which is pretty ugly) for £32 on Amazon, which works out at roughly $42. For the same price you've also got the random named Chinese companies on Amazon like SEEZOW and MOTREW - I think for $20 more i'd probably buy the Apple one.

 

[t.linn]

Maybe google thunderbolt 5 cables before commenting. This really isn't that outrageous.

Actually, it is. You can get Intel certified braided 1-meter TB5 cables from reputable cable manufacturers for half the price—and they're labeled with "5" and the max charging wattage. I will never again buy a cable without those labels.

 

[WolfSnap]

Why don't they add any markings to indicate that it's a TB5 vs TB4 cable. Ugh.. So annoying.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Why don't they add any markings to indicate that it's a TB5 vs TB4 cable. Ugh.. So annoying.

Just do like the YouTube influencers and throw out all your cables and buy all new!

(Joking… please don’t be that wasteful)

 

[WolfSnap]

As usual, Apple is charging ridiculous prices for cables.

No thanks, I'll do what I always do and ONLY buy 3rd party.

You've got to be nuts to pay Apple price for a cable.

You've apparently never seen the MRI scans of their cables. They're likely worth every penny Apple charges. They're works of art inside.

 

[turbineseaplane]

You've apparently never seen the MRI scans of their cables. They're likely worth every penny Apple charges. They're works of art inside.

I will admit I have not seen that either.
Any link to point us in the right direction?

I would be curious to see that.

 

[rishiomedia]

$69? This is the first cable I wouldn’t want to scratch.

 

[WolfSnap]

I will admit I have not seen that either.
Any link to point us in the right direction?

I would be curious to see that.

Here you go:

But, there's a bunch of videos on the topic. The cables really are pretty amazing. It's not just wires soldered to a few pins.

 

[ins]

As usual, Apple is charging ridiculous prices for cables.

No thanks, I'll do what I always do and ONLY buy 3rd party.

You've got to be nuts to pay Apple price for a cable.

The cable is expensive for a reason.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=AD5aAd8Oy84

 

[sw1tcher]

Priced at $69, the new 1 meter Thunderbolt 5 Pro Cable supports Thunderbolt 5 data transfers at the maximum speed...

Apple: put the numeral “5” on the cable connector, just below the lightning bolt. It lets people know this is a Thunderbolt 5 cable, versus 4 or 3. Other manufacturers do this.

But that will add an extra $0.05 to Apple's cost... and Apple will have to price the cable at $79 instead of $69 to recoup that cost.

 

[Victor Mortimer]

Here you go:

But, there's a bunch of videos on the topic. The cables really are pretty amazing. It's not just wires soldered to a few pins.

Incredibly deceptive. They're comparing a Thunderbolt cable to a USB cable.

ALL Thunderbolt cables have processing inside. Apple price gouges.

 

[name99]

As usual, Apple is charging ridiculous prices for cables.

No thanks, I'll do what I always do and ONLY buy 3rd party.

You've got to be nuts to pay Apple price for a cable.

You think that's expensive? Try nVLink...

This is not for connecting your keyboard to the Mac!
It's for tying two (or four, or many more) mini's (or other macs) together to create a low-cost training powerhouse...

 

[Shollywood]

What uses T5 at this point? Absolute nonsense paying for that cable.

 

[RMo]

Ah yes from well renowned brand Cable Matters , I'm sure that will absolutely be in spec. (just to be clear, it won't).

The cable linked to in the post you replied to is in spec, unless you know more than Intel; it is certified, and this is easy to look up: https://www.thunderbolttechnology.n..._value_many_to_one=All&field_company_nid=2832

Now look up the prices from reputable brands and not rando Chinese that'll cut corners in the spec.

I don't think Cable Matters is an disreputable brand (Chinese, possibly; I can't find any information on that other than a warehouse in the US; Apple's cables are also likely manufactured elsewhere).

 

[rembert]

I just bought the Caldigit Thunderbolt Station 4 Pro (that's the Apple one, somehow way cheaper than the Caldigit non-pro one) to hook it up to my MB M2 Max. Love it. Guess I'd still love it when upgrading my MB to the M4 Max. Wouldn't know any peripheral needing 120 Gbit/s at this moment.

 

[atonaldenim]

What can you actually connect with thunderbolt 5? There is no tb5 ssd as far as I know?

 

[BJMRamage]

Oh good, they look identical to my braided Thunderbolt 4 cables. This should be fun. Thanks Apple.

there's a 4 right below the lightning bolt to easily tell the cables apart.

oh wait...that would have been smart. they look alike.

 

[jimthing]

Apple: put the numeral “5” on the cable connector, just below the lightning bolt. It lets people know this is a Thunderbolt 5 cable, versus 4 or 3. Other manufacturers do this.

Agree. I have several of both 1.8m and 3m TB4 (not TB3) Apple braided cables; NONE have a number on them.

 

[jimthing]

Specs:
"USB 4 data transfer at up to 40Gb/s"

Not full functionality: USB 4 is available at 80Gbps.

Also:
No longer active ones yet, at 3m or even 1.8m.

Wonder if Corning will offer optical ones at 10m+ length. I have a TB3 optical of their's that works flawlessly, so here's hoping sooner rather than later.

 

[SpotOnT]

Unfortunately the 1M cable (passive) has a built-in chip.
This probably will used to identify the cable and limit the speed, otherwise it should be identical.

Ya, we will have to see.

I think I read this in Intel’s own Thunderbolt 5 press release, and since all these cables use Intel chips, hopefully they know what they are talking about.