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What cable does 16" come with?

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PastaPrimav

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Nov 6, 2017
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Since USB-C / Thunderbolt 3 is giant cluster fork with at least 12 different spec'd cables that I can name (all with the same connector and no clear markings)....I must ask this question:

What kind of cable comes with the 16" MBP? Is is still just a USB-C cable like what comes with other MacBooks, or is it a Thunderbolt 3?
 
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Cable that comes with the MBP 16" is a Thunderbolt 3 backwards compatible with USB-C but thicker to handle 100W power from the charger.
 
Is it a different cable than what comes with other Mac Book Pro?

If not then no, its not a Thunderbolt 3 cable. It does not have the bandwidth. This is what I'm talking about. Everyone goes on and on 'muh single connector' but no one even realizes that it's just a lie.
 
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Sanpete said:
It's a charging cable designed to carry 100W, and reportedly carries data at USB 2 speed, same as the earlier ones. Since you already seem to know, why do you ask?
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I'm asking if its a different cable than what comes with other MacBook Pros. Since this one needs to carry 100W of power, and Apple is intentionally ambiguous about it.
 
This is the cable it ships with. I was given this as a replacement in-store with exact matched packaging for the additional cable (and charger) that was ordered along with MBP16,1. There was an issue with the charger and to eliminate any further potential issues, both charger and cable were swapped.

USB C Charge Cable 2 m - Apple

Apple Store Search Results
www.apple.com

iPad Models
  • iPad Pro 11-inch
  • iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation)
Mac Models
  • MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, Early 2015 - 2017)
  • MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2018 and later)
  • MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2016 and later)
  • MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2016 - 2019)
  • MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019)
  • iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019)
  • iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2017)
  • iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2019)
  • iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2017)
  • iMac Pro (2017 and later)
  • Mac Pro (2019)
  • Mac mini (2018)
 
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maflynn said:
Does it matter? Its the correct cable for the needs of the 16" MBP. Just use what was included ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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maflynn said:
I think that's fine, but I wouldn't use another cable on the 16" MBP to charge the laptop.
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This is just...

In one sentence you pretend like it doesn't matter what kind of cable it is..that it doesn't even matter if we know what kind of cable it is.

...and then you say you wouldn't use any other cable...because of course it matters what kind of cable you use.

This a really good example of what a disaster USB-C is. We were better off when a cable that fit in a port was the right cable to use.

Of course it matters, because of course I want to buy additional cables, and Apple's are junk and break far too easily, so I'm not buying those.

I was also asking because I need to get an actual Thunderbolt 3 cable for data transfer from my other Mac, and was checking to see if by chance Apple had included one.
[automerge]1580757555[/automerge]
leman said:
It’s the same cable as with earlier 15” models.
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Thank you.
[automerge]1580757683[/automerge]
bsbeamer said:
This is the cable it ships with. I was given this as a replacement in-store with exact matched packaging for the additional cable (and charger) that was ordered along with MBP16,1. There was an issue with the charger and to eliminate any further potential issues, both charger and cable were swapped.

USB C Charge Cable 2 m - Apple

Apple Store Search Results
www.apple.com

iPad Models
  • iPad Pro 11-inch
  • iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation)
Mac Models
  • MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, Early 2015 - 2017)
  • MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2018 and later)
  • MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2016 and later)
  • MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2016 - 2019)
  • MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019)
  • iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019)
  • iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2017)
  • iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2019)
  • iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2017)
  • iMac Pro (2017 and later)
  • Mac Pro (2019)
  • Mac mini (2018)
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Thanks, so yea....the standard Apple USB-C cable. (NOT a Thunderbolt 3 cable).
 
Correct, USB-C cable.
All TB3 cables with 40Gbps bandwidth are marked with a 3 on the “cuff” of the cable connection near port. All others are 20Gbps or less.
 
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I get the OPs concern. There are USB-C cables that support TB-3 for data, but only 60W (20V @ 3A) for Power Delivery. And there are IF-Certified cables that support 100W (20V @ 5A) for power but do not support TB-3 data rates. I believe this is what the Apple cable is.

If you want a cable to do everything you need to look for one that supports TB-3 data rates and is IF-Certified for 100W Power Deliver (PD).
 
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jerryk said:
If you want a cable to do everything you need to look for one that supports TB-3 data rates and is IF-Certified for 100W Power Deliver (PD).
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Believe you also need an ACTIVE cable for anything over 1m.

This is one of the few that meet all the requirements in one cable:

Thunderbolt™ 3 2M Cable

shop.caldigit.com shop.caldigit.com

Can 100% confirm it provides 100W PD via Sonnet eGFX 650 OC.
 
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bsbeamer said:
Believe you also need an ACTIVE cable for anything over 1m.

This is one of the few that meet all the requirements in one cable:

Thunderbolt™ 3 2M Cable

shop.caldigit.com shop.caldigit.com

Can 100% confirm it provides 100W PD via Sonnet eGFX 650 OC.
Click to expand...
And being active, it may be Thunderbolt 3 and 40 Gbps, but its also NOT USB-3, its limited to USB-2.

It is really insane.
 
Any way you slice it, it’s better than the days of four FireWire connections and SCSI.

If you need USB-C 10Gbps buy that cable specifically. Almost all others are 5Gbps rated.
 
Apple cables are junk?

I still use all the original power cables for my 2011 MacBook Pro, 2013 Air, 2017 iPhone 7 and 2018 iPad and none have had any issues. I’m not super careful with them either... No experience with the usb-c powered MacBook pros until I got this 16” a few weeks ago so we’ll see, but I’m not worried about at all.
 
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