Why is Apple's Thunderbolt 4 Pro Cable So Expensive! Is it Overpriced?

Apple's Thunderbolt 4 cable starts off at $129, much higher than the competition. Is there a reason for it or is Apple just marking the price up? The answer may surprise you!
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[@AppleInsider]

Grab Apple's Thunderbolt 4 cable at ➡ Amazon: amzn.to/38934H4 B&H: bhpho.to/3LJ59YR Cheaper alternatives ➡ CalDigit: bhpho.to/3vJpJ5K Belkin: belkin.evyy.net/ODakZ Anker: amzn.to/39vxaoB

[@chriss2050]

idk i just got the 3m cable because I figured it'll make sense at some point in the future. buy once, cry once.

[@marcusbarnes5929]

Is the apple thunderbolt 4 cable better than OWC thunderbolt 4 cable?

[@chriss2050]

Thanks for the video Mr. AppleInsider

[@Guironey]

thxxx for this info.

[@brentsmithline3423]

I went with [Intel Certified] Cable Matters 40Gbps Active Thunderbolt 4 Cable 6.6 ft with 100W Charging and 8K Video - Fully Compatible with USB C/USB-C, USB 4 / USB4, and Thunderbolt 3 on Amazon. Using with my new MacBook Air M1 chip with 8‑core CPU, 7‑core GPU, and 16‑core Neural Engine, 16GB unified memory, 2TB SSD storage, CalDigit TS4 Thunderbolt 4 Dock, and a LG Ultra HD 5K Ultra Slim 27MD5KA-B Monitor on a desk VESA arm. So far no issues. Feel that if all Apple devices had USB4 ports like the iPad Pro, and the Mac's it would drive down prices on these cables. Would love a USB4 port on my iPhone, and if the new iPhone is going to be able to shot 8K video the 40 Gbits data transfer rate would be great.

[@RunForPeace-hk1cu]

Except battery life (on your iPhone will be terrible and will melt your phone running at that speed. If you try to charge your phone while transferring 40gb/s, it will make your phone catch on fire 🔥 😂 You need to understand the laws of physics

[@Coldsteak]

omg that product name length

[@dplj4428]

Thank you for the “tear down”.

[@TheTeguhdinatazt]

it is compatible for charging??

[@JEwisethinkers]

I ordered the 1 meter cable for the iPhone 15 pro max. Looking forward to using it to give myself extra cable when using the iPhone 😊

[@USAF-NGAD]

You ordered a Thunderbolt 4 cable for your IPhone? Unless you own a device with a USB-4 support you just wasted a stupid amount of money.

[@mpetrides]

I’ll stick with the short cable (which I believe is just Thunderbolt 3) that came with my Studio Display.

[@AppleInsider]

Yes, that is Thunderbolt 3!

[@aninditabasak7694]

@@AppleInsider And it’s 1m long.

[@samlazar574]

I will probably buy the 3M version when I have saved some more money. I have a 1M cable, but not long enough.

[@amberjones7253]

I found a brand doing a promotion. Maxonar.

[@amberjones7253]

Going with the Maxonar 2 meter cable for $42!

[@anderbeau]

Well I bought one and it literally doesn’t even allow the M2 iPad Pro to be mounted or show up anywhere in finder on my M2 Ultra Mac Studio. WTF 🤬

[@DrewPera]

I myself would go third party for the 1.8m. Unfortunately, nobody else makes a 3m cable. Apple's the only company that does at the moment so if you need the length, that's it.

[@cheddar07]

Corning makes long thunderbolt cables.

[@shadowfight11]

I just bought a 5 meter (~16 feet) long thunderbolt 4 (40Gbps) for around 35 dollars on Amazon, tested and everything so I don't understand any of this.

[@jpt4409]

Sure you did 🤡@@shadowfight11

[@seanriley9045]

3m! Perfect for me! Allows me to keep my Apollo Interface tucked away in the rack.

[@neostephens8980]

Going with the OWC 2 meter cable for $57.

[@fumblerooskie]

Good luck.

[@macmanwiz]

Using OWC cable and it works fine for me.

[@aaronrdaniels]

Buying one as my bedside charger. Going to have a PD hub with ethernet and a usb connection to my computer across the room through a cable in the floor.

[@PossibleJothamChin]

As someone who exports raw images from my camera, I don’t care about the price, the fastest is always good

[@TheTrafficBoss]

Am I the only one that’s outfitted everything relevant or that could be relevant in the future with TB4 cables? I feel like I have a problem. I own 2 1.8m Apple cables and 1 3m Apple Cable. Bunch of OWC and CM cables. A few Anker cables. All of my chargers run TB cables. I have CAT 8 Ethernet for my 1GB connection. Over kill it all!

[@mahmudiphone5468]

Using huawei stock cable that givw with phone for last 3 years...nothing happened yet

[@truthbringer8574]

Still can’t find a TB4 cable longer than 5-6FT worth a damn

[@4thNebula]

I don't have the info. about how many watts, Hz, video info. etc. this cable will provide. It may be worth it. It seems that it is insurance over the future.

[@machdaddy6451]

I get the need for a quality construction, but why does a cable have to have active components? Is Apple justifying the cost by needlessly adding active components? Is there a measurable performance difference?

[@TrevorSachko]

Well you could buy even longer ones from Corning....

[@BIGGELATO]

The power of marketing 🤦‍♂️

[@crafter89]

If I was rich I would use the 3m cables for EVERYTHING! They're just the nicest cables and they support everything. I would spend thousands of dollars on cables.

[@Patarico828]

THE TRUE CABLE GUY

[@batflash]

No benchmarks? :/

[@Victor-rx4kh]

Alors oui je d'accord pour acheter des câbles de bonne qualité, ça fait une belle différence et ça dure beaucoup plus longtemps mais 180€ ça reste hors de prix ! La justification du prix ici ne réside pas du tout dans sa qualité mais dans le rapport de force qu'a Apple, ils profitent de leur marque, leur rayonnement, ils savent que seuls les fan boys et les pros vont l'acheter donc autant les saigner

[@TheSakuraGumiLTD]

For connecting to professional outboard? Yes… it’ll ensure what I’m connecting it to will run as smoothly as possible… but this is for professional items costing from £1500 all the way up to £4000… it makes sense in the quality of the items I’m connecting to

[@jonathanyoung4404]

You guys should watch this the Adam video this cable is cybertron tech. Compared to so many cheap cables that are hot garbage with unsoldered pinched on wires. Not to say there aren’t others but this is certainly not a 30.00 box store is just as good situation. The price reflects high quality and advanced electrical engineering.

[@AA5SA]

This cable is for the same folks that buy the $120 HDMI cables off the shelf at Best Buy.

[@ashwinnarasimhan2729]

I thought they stopped charging that much years ago

[@Jh0than]

Nah because it has a proprietary chipset while those HDMI ports were just skins on the same hardware

[@michaelgalligan1187]

3m cable is so long. I don’t know anyone who would need that. I’d take 1.8 meters. That’s long enough for most people.

[@RunForPeace-hk1cu]

Why does anyone need a 3M+ Ethernet cable …. All good questions. If you need it you need it

[@Bbhhhhj]

Just picked up the 3m version as I wanted my HP thunderbolt dock in the middle of my desk, and needed a 8 foot cable to get to my monitor/laptop arm.

[@johnclarke6647]

I ought arefurbished Apple IPad Pro off Amazon and it does not want to charge, correctly.i think the supplier sent me a standard UsB C power supply and cable instead of theThunderbolt cable and power supply. What do you think. It is an iPad 3 11 iinch with an M1 chip,made in 2021.

[@robotube7361]

That is all cool but that cable's real value is 50 USD including the materials and the technology used.

[@jomalj5468]

You had sell yourself at the very end, what do you mean by saying 3'rd pay option? Is it not a apple third party manufacturer in this scenario?!?! If I remember correctly Intel has IP on thunderbolt. Or maybe it's just because you had assumed that the greatest company in the world is "first party" on everything?

[@machdaddy6451]

Just because Apple is the sole source for a cable doesn't mean they are not overcharging for it.

[@jakedunlap8809]

Always go for the lower cost option even though the quality may not be as good. $129 for a 1.8 m cable is outrageous. Why does Apple want to overcharge for products not just the actual product like a computer or iPhone but the accessories as well? Also, third-party retailers like Amazon or Best Buy need to be allowed to offer lower prices on the same products. It’s called competition. Apple is monopolizing the world of technology or it seems like they are trying to. I would the federal trade commission and the securities and exchange commission allow this to happen?

[@AppleInsider]

Depends what you need! Apple is the only company who has been able to release a 3m cable! It isn't overpriced at all.

[@SlotHits777]

@@AppleInsider for now

[@techinrl9869]

Third party retailers often offer discounts on Apple products. Just yesterday I bought a 4-pack of AirTags from Amazon for $89, $10 off the normal Apple price. I also recently bought AirPods Pro to replace ones my daughter was using for $169, also from Amazon, for $80 off Apple’s price. Just today, various Mac sites are advertising $100 off of AirPods Max, but I didn’t look where. There are sales all the time.

[@DrewPera]

If other companies sell a 1.8m cable for less, how can Apple have a monopoly? Just buy one of the other ones.

[@RunForPeace-hk1cu]

@@SlotHits777 so you are gonna wait indefinitely until that mythical cheap 3m cable comes along? If you need it, you need it

[@blog_eztz]

1.8m 129? This does not justify. 3m apple is the only one, fine.

[@mossponsol]

“Apple is the only one selling it so it’s reasonable and fair” ummmmm?????

[@Aperez]

Thunderbolt is what USB-C should've been but at the same time better due to its rough similarity and amazing speeds, but the expensive cost is what keeps them from being superior.

[@tvm2209]

Thunderbolt is just the protocol- they are both technically USB-C. Honestly feel like they deliberately use these confusing terms unfortunately.

[@DevilsAdvocate669]

It's the same.

[@Aperez]

@@DevilsAdvocate669 I consider them different 😛

[@DevilsAdvocate669]

@Aperez That's cool, I have no qualms if you do Don't spread misinformation about it, though. People shouldn't spend more than 100 dollars for a cable thinking that it's different when it isn't. Again, if you consider a name a big enough change, that's fine, but lying about it is pretty scummy. Also, lighting is only 20 mbps, which is slower than the standard 40.

[@Aperez]

@@DevilsAdvocate669 I’m not lying, I’m just making it beneficial for people who want to future proof it and find a good value when they can so that they’ll have something reliable in the long run.

[@zodbuster]

Apple knows how dumb their followers are.. so why not

[@camfocus8888]

Yes! I will pay it. it make me looks pro!

[@phantom1076]

Why would you want super longevity for tech that would go obsolete In a few years. You're not buying a house or a car.

[@miloc4x]

Nice

[@trayburn80]

bruh u can get a usb/usb c cable extender it has infinite length for more than half that price

[@ygt-cd3mg]

Bought three Apple Thunderbolt 4Pro 3meter cables. Needs the length and speed for professional work. Definitely a must have for pros, worth the money.

[@raresdaramus]

overpriced? that's the apple spirit

[@AppleInsider]

For the 1.8m, it's a bit high. For the 3m, you can't do any better!

[@neostephens8980]

Actually, that's contrary to the Apple spirit. LOL

[@fumblerooskie]

People who really need to maximize throughput won't blanch at the price. If you think it's too expensive for you, it is. Buy a cheaper one.

[@Hyperbole77]

Yes, better throughput - or as Andrew calls it, “thorough-put” 2:11

[@wizard7314]

No. TB4 is 40 Gbps. That's it.

[@HiFiInsider]

The devil is always in the details. It's a very well built and designed cable.

[@extra4542]

No cable Is worth $130. There’s a limit to how much value can be placed into the build quality.. OF A CABLE. Man apple sheep will defend anything

[@how8955]

Dude it’s a bunch of copper wrapped with a different material that costs them at most 25 bucks to make

[@RunForPeace-hk1cu]

@@how8955 you have no idea why optical cables costs so much and why active copper cables costs so much. Because you are used to buying $3 usbc cables 😂 If you understand physics, you would know why.

[@karl76uk]

I took mine back as it didn’t work !

[@RunForPeace-hk1cu]

You can get replacement cables

[@bioglassmusic]

it is overpriced.

[@SlotHits777]

you are f’n nuts if you pay that, for a cable

[@rodrigosmusic]

It’s a DIGITAL cable. Don’t even bother with interference…

[@trannel73]

Psssst. Don't explain the joke out loud! :D

[@1stRanger]

So because they are the only ones who offer 3 meter cable its price somehow becomes reasonable. That flawless shill logic...

[@whiteandnerdytuba]

Since all apple accessories have the high profit margins apple demands, by definition all apple accessories are over priced. This for example has nothing unique about it

[@Joshua-notjosh-]

it's a crapple product... so yes, it's over priced. That's like being surprised that hot sauce is spicy.

[@cafinario]

Thieves.

[@rickyay26]

Wow you gave zero info whether it’s an active or passive cable. Because I know it’s an “active” cable, the price is somewhat justifiable. I’m sorry but you need to do more research on things like this.

[@jameskalavazides2083]

He says it 1:14

[@lastEvergreen]

Ooh now who needs to do more research?