Would be nice if there was a way to visually identify a Thunderbolt 5 cable without having to plug it in and run diagnostics software. You’d think they could put a little “5” beside the Thunderbolt symbol, or something?
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Apple Now Selling Thunderbolt 5 Cable for M4 Mac Mini and MacBook Pro
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Passive cables are automatically upwards-compatible with USB 4 80 Gbps when using supported devices.
Presumably, Apple devices do not support USB 4 80 Gbps, so they’re not mentioning it.
At 1m, this should be a passive cable? If a Thunderbolt 4 cable is passive, can it work at Thunderbolt 5 speed?
You can see how thicker it's than the thunderbolt 4 cable. Also the connector seems bigger.
The thicker is just because it is 240 W instead of 100 W.
Yes, it's a passive cable. Confirmed in Apple's specifications. USB/Thunderbolt cables of 1m length or less are pretty much always passive AFAIK.
I think Thunderbolt 4 cables won't support the 240 watts, it requires either thicker or more insulated power cables, but for data I don't see why it should be any different.
The biggest problem is that these are only 3‘ long. Running multiple displays from a single machine off to the side really needs 6’ for the most distant ones which means an active cable, which means $$$ (when it’s available).
But, paying that much is worth it. I have a collection of allegedly logo-certified TB 3 and TB 4 cables. About half work, some with some drives and hubs, others with other ones. But the apple ones work with all the computers (windows included) and with all the devices and hubs. And only the Apple 6’ ones work. You get what you pay for.
But, paying that much is worth it. I have a collection of allegedly logo-certified TB 3 and TB 4 cables. About half work, some with some drives and hubs, others with other ones. But the apple ones work with all the computers (windows included) and with all the devices and hubs. And only the Apple 6’ ones work. You get what you pay for.
2m cables need to be active. I am not even sure if it is technically possible to have 2m cable operating at Thunderbolt 5 speed.
Cable matters only in terms of amperage. If a cable can handle 5A, it should support 240w (48V * 5A).
I thought Thunderbolt and Power Delivery (PD) are orthogonal. You can have Thunderbolt 3, 4 or 5 cable supports either 3A or 5A.
TB5 more than double the transfer rate, which has higher requirement on the signal quality. Is it possible to achieve 80Gbps or even 120 Gbps on 2m cables?
Yep, same experience. I bought multiple 2m Apple Pro cables for this reason. The cheaper ones are especially flaky for pro audio uses.
Presumably the display will have an active cable, and the TB3 pro cable came out about 10 months after the XDR. I wonder if that will be the case this time.
I doubt Apple will update the XDR since there have been zero rumors or leaks about it, but it will be an extremely expensive week for me if they do. My wallet is ready.
I expect they’ll wait for the Mac Pro / Mac Studio updates next year but if they aren’t going to redesign those machines maybe releasing now makes sense with the MBPs. That would be an awesome surprise.
The Studio Display probably won’t get 120hz for another couple years at the earliest. They’re going to charge $5k for this thing, for sure, and call it “pro” and the XDR is complicated and expensive and has had some mild issues with reliability that they’re probably keen to fix.
For what it's worth, Cable Matters very much IS a reputable brand of cable. They're not one of the cheap junk brands you are thinking of. I can't speak to any experience with this specific cable, but if they claim a spec or certification personally I believe them unless proven otherwise.
I have somewhere between 7-10 thunderbolt 3 cables and the only ones that work with everything every time are the Apple Pro ones. If you don’t ever touch your setup and vet the cables for sure others can work, but I had a couple times with flaky performance and said to hell with it and spend the money and have never regretted it.
Corning also makes (made?) some very good optical TB3 cables for long runs but they were fragile. I hope they produce some TB5 ones eventually but I’m dubious that they will.
You've got to be nuts to buy 3rd party cable multiple times because they don't perform, fray, and then stop working.
You get what you pay for.
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USB-C is the connector format. It's the physical head with the pins. At minimum it provides some power, if it works.
Thunderbolt is a protocol that provides power and video and data at very high specification. To do that properly it needs lots of actual circuitry in the cable itself. See the scanned images above.
All TB3+ uses the USB-C format. Not all USB-C cables support TB.
$69 for a cable,? we are talking about a Cable here, right?
$69 dollars....Really?
and that is acceptable ???
What's next, a $50 dollar Guitar pick.
$69 dollars....Really?
and that is acceptable ???
What's next, a $50 dollar Guitar pick.