Apple's intricate Thunderbolt 4 Pro cable design revealed under CT scan

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Lumafield used a powerful X-ray CT scanner to determine why Apple's Thunderbolt 4 Pro cable is $129 compared to Amazon's cheaper USB-C offerings.

Apple Thunderbolt 4 Pro cable CT scan by Lumafield
Apple Thunderbolt 4 Pro cable CT scan by Lumafield



Apple's costly Thunderbolt 4 Pro cable has come under a lot of scrutiny since its debut in 2022. A previous teardown showed exactly why the cable is so expensive with its complex engineering.

A company called Lumafield used its Neptune industrial X-ray CT scanner to get a closer look at the Thunderbolt 4 Pro cable and some of the cheaper options on the market. As the teardown showed, the cable has an incredible level of complex engineering unmatched by the other cables scanned.

The Thunderbolt 4 Pro cable is rated for 100W power delivery and 40 Gbps data transfer speeds. The CT scans reveal Apple went all out with a nine-layer PCBA that utilizes all 24 pins for connection.

Compared to an Amazon Basics USB-C cable costing around $10, it's a masterpiece of engineering. The Amazon Basics cable is rated for 60W and data transfer speeds at 480 Mbps.

It has 12 pins instead of 24, with eight of them jumped across for cost-cutting. This is a lower-spec cable, so the cheaper construction and engineering are warranted, but it helps show exactly why Apple's design costs more than ten times as much.

This $5 cable lacked a PCBA
This $5 cable lacked a PCBA. Image source: Lumafield



Other USB-C cables examined by Lumafield showed incredibly poor construction and engineering. One $5 option lacks a PCBA entirely, with connectors running straight to the wire.

Check out the detailed CT scans and an interactive application for viewing them on Lumafield's website.

The $129 Thunderbolt 4 Pro cable is 1.8 meters, a length many competitors offer. Apple continues to be the only reputable vendor with a 3 meter Thunderbolt 4 cable priced at $159.

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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 29
    fahlmanfahlman Posts: 742member
    Why does a rocket cost more than a paper airplane?
    mike1williamlondonAlex1Ndanoxwatto_cobrajas99h4y3s
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  • Reply 2 of 29
    thttht Posts: 5,874member
    fahlman said:
    Why does a rocket cost more than a paper airplane?
    Hmmm... there have been many a rocket whose paper was and is more expensive than the rocket itself?  ;)

    Yes, the media headlines for this article (which will go to multiple outlets) has dialed up the clickbait as much as possible.


    watto_cobrajas99
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  • Reply 3 of 29
    mikethemartianmikethemartian Posts: 1,586member
    It costs that much simply because of what it is capable of doing and it is worth it. In an RF lab you can pay thousands of dollars for a phase length matched pair of passive cables for high frequencies. Those passive cables are more versatile since they can transmit arbitrary analog waveforms and not just digital streams that meet USB/Thunderbolt specifications but nevertheless $129 for 40 Gbps is a great deal.
    dewmetmayAlex1Nwatto_cobrajas99byronl
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  • Reply 4 of 29
    MplsPmplsp Posts: 4,096member
    Wait… you mean that engineering and quality actually cost something?
    mike1strongywilliamlondonFlappochasmAlex1Nwatto_cobrajas99
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  • Reply 5 of 29
    darkvaderdarkvader Posts: 1,146member
    Because Apple likes to charge highway robbery prices for cables.  They always have.

    The chances that's in any way significantly different than any other Thunderbolt cable are ZERO.  It's a standard, anybody building a cable is going to use a similar design. 
    williamlondon
     0Likes 0Dislikes 1Informative
  • Reply 6 of 29
    Xedxed Posts: 3,063member
    darkvader said:
    Because Apple likes to charge highway robbery prices for cables.  They always have.

    The chances that's in any way significantly different than any other Thunderbolt cable are ZERO.  It's a standard, anybody building a cable is going to use a similar design. 
    Someone doesn't like to read articles before posting.
    emcnairdewmemarklarkHonkersredgeminipaOctoMonkeydope_ahmineAppleZulubart123ricmike1
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  • Reply 7 of 29
    cp-cp- Posts: 7member
    Any reason why this is being compared to usb-c cables and not other thunderbolt4 cables?? That comparison with the amazon basics cable is kind of apples to oranges since they’re comparing a cable designed to do USB2 speeds (480Mbps) to a TB4 spec cable. A fairer comparison would he against another TB4 cable.
    sirdirwilliamlondoncoolfactordewmeAlex1Nbyronlh4y3s
     6Likes 0Dislikes 1Informative
  • Reply 8 of 29
    Stabitha_Christiestabitha_christie Posts: 665member
    Xed said:
    darkvader said:
    Because Apple likes to charge highway robbery prices for cables.  They always have.

    The chances that's in any way significantly different than any other Thunderbolt cable are ZERO.  It's a standard, anybody building a cable is going to use a similar design. 
    Someone doesn't like to read articles before posting.
    I don’t think it’s that, I think they enjoy announcing to the world that they are an ignorant jackass. Some people just like being wrong about everything 
    Honkersredgeminipadope_ahminestrongywilliamlondoncoolfactorMisterKitAlex1Ndanoxwatto_cobra
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  • Reply 9 of 29
    22july201322july2013 Posts: 3,800member
    Stabitha_Christie said:
    Xed said:
    darkvader said:
    Because Apple likes to charge highway robbery prices for cables.  They always have.

    The chances that's in any way significantly different than any other Thunderbolt cable are ZERO.  It's a standard, anybody building a cable is going to use a similar design. 
    Someone doesn't like to read articles before posting.
    I don’t think it’s that, I think they enjoy announcing to the world that they are an ignorant jackass. Some people just like being wrong about everything 
    I don't think it's that, I think they enjoy making other people laugh. I laughed at him.
    coolfactorchasmAlex1Ndanoxwatto_cobraradarthekatmacxpress
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  • Reply 10 of 29
    CheeseFreezecheesefreeze Posts: 1,391member
    I understand this makes the cable more expensive. But that does not justify an over 10x bump compared to Amazon. $129 for a cable is obscene.

    Apple’s cables have always been severely overpriced. 

    Also surprised why this article doesn’t just compare to other TB4 cables.
    edited October 2023
    sirdirwilliamlondondewmeWolflowdarkvader
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  • Reply 11 of 29
    sirdirsirdir Posts: 203member
    Xed said:
    darkvader said:
    Because Apple likes to charge highway robbery prices for cables.  They always have.

    The chances that's in any way significantly different than any other Thunderbolt cable are ZERO.  It's a standard, anybody building a cable is going to use a similar design. 
    Someone doesn't like to read articles before posting.
    Did you? They didn’t compare to other Thunderbolt cables
    williamlondonWolflowdarkvaderbyronl
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  • Reply 12 of 29
    dope_ahminedope_ahmine Posts: 270member
    It could be worth mentioning that Apple’s cable specs reach the maximum performance as specified by Intel.

    The cost of increasing quality is seldom linear, but rises when approaching 100%. This fact, and that it’s a “specialty” cable sold at low volumes, might explain the $129.

    It would have been interesting to see a comparison with other TB4 cables that also reach maximum performance. Only then could we tell whether Apple’s price is unreasonably high or not.
    edited October 2023
    coolfactorAlex1NdanoxWolflowwatto_cobrabyronl
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  • Reply 13 of 29
    AppleZuluapplezulu Posts: 2,342member
    Apple is now also selling a 1 meter version for $69.
    williamlondondewmewatto_cobra
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  • Reply 14 of 29
    Xedxed Posts: 3,063member
    dope_ahmine said:
    It could be worth mentioning that Apple’s cable specs reach the maximum performance as specified by Intel.

    The cost of increasing quality is seldom linear, but rises when approaching 100%. This fact, and that it’s a “specialty” cable sold at low volumes, might explain the $129.

    It would have been interesting to see a comparison with other TB4 cables that also reach maximum performance. Only then could we tell whether Apple’s price is unreasonably high or not.
    That has been answered in another AI article a month ago.
    williamlondonchasmAlex1Ndope_ahminewatto_cobra
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  • Reply 15 of 29
    multimediamultimedia Posts: 1,061member
    How was I able to buy two 5 inch flat 240 watt 40Gbps 8k video cables from APEXSUN for $7 on Amazon?

    “APEXSUN (2 Pack) FPC 0.4FT USB C Cable，USB C to USB C Flexible Cable. Support Thunderbolt 4/3, USB4, 240W Charging, 8K Display, 40Gbps Data Transfer for External SSD, EGPU, Docking, MacBook, Pad, iPhone 15”


    edited October 2023
    williamlondonWolflowdarkvader
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  • Reply 16 of 29
    Honkershonkers Posts: 156member
    How was I able to buy two 5 inch flat 240 watt 40Gbps 8k video cables from APEXSUN for $7 on Amazon?

    “APEXSUN (2 Pack) FPC 0.4FT USB C Cable，USB C to USB C Flexible Cable. Support Thunderbolt 4/3, USB4, 240W Charging, 8K Display, 40Gbps Data Transfer for External SSD, EGPU, Docking, MacBook, Pad, iPhone 15”
    Good luck with a 5 inch video cable.

    https://www.tomsguide.com/features/thunderbolt-4-vs-usb4-whats-the-difference


    williamlondonAlex1N
     1Like 0Dislikes 1Informative
  • Reply 17 of 29
    Afarstarafarstar Posts: 82member
    darkvader said:
    Because Apple likes to charge highway robbery prices for cables.  They always have.

    The chances that's in any way significantly different than any other Thunderbolt cable are ZERO.  It's a standard, anybody building a cable is going to use a similar design. 
    Obviously you haven’t read the article to see the difference in design. In fact you’ve made a pretty stupid comment. 
    strongywilliamlondoncoolfactorAlex1Nwatto_cobramacxpress
     6Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 18 of 29
    mike1mike1 Posts: 3,472member
    Xed said:
    darkvader said:
    Because Apple likes to charge highway robbery prices for cables.  They always have.

    The chances that's in any way significantly different than any other Thunderbolt cable are ZERO.  It's a standard, anybody building a cable is going to use a similar design. 
    Someone doesn't like to read articles before posting.

    That's why he's blocked.
    strongyXedwilliamlondoncoolfactorAlex1Nwatto_cobrajas99
     7Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 19 of 29
    Xedxed Posts: 3,063member
    multimedia said:
    How was I able to buy two 5 inch flat 240 watt 40Gbps 8k video cables from APEXSUN for $7 on Amazon?

    “APEXSUN (2 Pack) FPC 0.4FT USB C Cable，USB C to USB C Flexible Cable. Support Thunderbolt 4/3, USB4, 240W Charging, 8K Display, 40Gbps Data Transfer for External SSD, EGPU, Docking, MacBook, Pad, iPhone 15.
    I’d like to see your detailed tests of that cable doing 40 gibps and 240W. I can’t say one way or the other without evidence, but the price to performance is very suspect, even before noting that it’s some unknown company via Amazon (America’s leading counterfeit and knockoff distributor).




    coolfactorchasmwilliamlondonwatto_cobrajas99byronl
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  • Reply 20 of 29
    saroniansaronian Posts: 8member
    Non-active Thunderbolt 4 cables are 1-meter or less in length. Good ones cost about $25. Beyond that length active cables are required and while Apple charges $129 dollars a good version from a competitor is still around $90. As others have noted, Thunderbolt 4 cables should not be compared with USB-C cables, even though the connector is the same.
    dewmeWolflowdanoxwilliamlondondarkvaderwatto_cobrabyronlh4y3s
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