Comments

• Reply 1 of 22

  dewme Posts: 5,391member

  September 14, 2023 11:53AM

  When I see “bad” in the title I equate that with a functional deficiency. Maybe “overpriced” or “ridiculously overpriced” or “a bad deal” would be more appropriate since the cables do work as intended, but at a price that only true believers would find acceptable.

  edited September 2023
• Reply 2 of 22

  Mike Wuerthele Posts: 6,865administrator

  September 14, 2023 12:12PM

  dewme said:

  When I see “bad” in the title I equate that with a functional deficiency. Maybe “overpriced” or “ridiculously overpriced” or “a bad deal” would be more appropriate since the cables do work as intended, but at a price that only true believers would find acceptable.

  This is addressed in the lede.

  
• Reply 3 of 22

  dewme Posts: 5,391member

  September 14, 2023 1:00PM

  Mike Wuerthele said:

  dewme said:

  When I see “bad” in the title I equate that with a functional deficiency. Maybe “overpriced” or “ridiculously overpriced” or “a bad deal” would be more appropriate since the cables do work as intended, but at a price that only true believers would find acceptable.

  This is addressed in the lede.

  But that’s beneath the headline. Having “bad deal” in the headline would immediately clarify the intent. If my wife announced that the milk in the refrigerator was “bad” I wouldn’t think she was possibly complaining about how much I paid for it. But it’s your call. 

  
• Reply 4 of 22

  alandail Posts: 756member

  September 14, 2023 1:01PM

  When I read bad, I expected there to be a flaw. Like too wide to fit when a case is used, an actual issue I've had with some non apple cables.
  
  Instead bad simply meant overpriced, which isn't unusual from Apple. I didn't even see the prices of Apple's cables mentioned, just a claim they are overpriced.
  
  The phone itself comes with a USB-C charging cable. Most people won't need anything else.

  
• Reply 5 of 22

  foregoneconclusion Posts: 2,691member

  September 14, 2023 2:00PM

  alandail said: Instead bad simply meant overpriced, which isn't unusual from Apple. I didn't even see the prices of Apple's cables mentioned, just a claim they are overpriced.

  It's really just the Thunderbolt 4 cable that has a price that makes you do a double-take...$59 for 1 meter. The USB-C is $19 for 1 meter and $29 for 2 meters. 

  
• Reply 6 of 22

  aderutter Posts: 606member

  September 14, 2023 2:12PM

  Ridiculous heading and silly article.
  
  If you need a 3 metre TB4 cable what you gonna buy? Is there an alternative when you need 3 metres? 
  
  My Apple TB4 Pro 3 metre cable is really, really nice and does everthing I want with a price I’m happy with. It’s far nicer than my 2m Caldigit TB4 cable for example. I’ll stick to buying the best even if it costs more. 
  
  
  

  
• Reply 7 of 22

  Mike Wuerthele Posts: 6,865administrator

  September 14, 2023 2:22PM

  aderutter said:

  Ridiculous heading and silly article.
  
  If you need a 3 metre TB4 cable what you gonna buy? Is there an alternative when you need 3 metres? 
  
  My Apple TB4 Pro 3 metre cable is really, really nice and does everthing I want with a price I’m happy with. It’s far nicer than my 2m Caldigit TB4 cable for example. I’ll stick to buying the best even if it costs more. 
  
  
  

  This isn't a three meter cable, it's a one-meter cable for $70.

  
  

  We're on record about the three-meter cable being good.

  edited September 2023
• Reply 8 of 22

  ITGUYINSD Posts: 516member

  September 14, 2023 2:32PM

  Why does the article keep referring to the 12.9" iPad Pro as some sort of "power-hungry" device suitable for the 240W charging cables (alongside the MacBook Pro)?
  The iPad Pro 12.9 ships with a 20W adapter.  Hardly a candidate for needing a 240W charging cable.

  edited September 2023
• Reply 9 of 22

  mretondo Posts: 92member

  September 14, 2023 3:56PM

  OMG the Belkin and Plugable cables are not Thunderbolt cables they're USB4 cables. The USB4 logo are printed on the cables.

  
• Reply 10 of 22

  Mike Wuerthele Posts: 6,865administrator

  September 14, 2023 4:13PM

  mretondo said:

  OMG the Belkin and Plugable cables are not Thunderbolt cables they're USB4 cables. The USB4 logo are printed on the cables.

  OMG they still work as Thunderbolt cables, and will charge devices better than long active Thunderbolt 3 cables.

  
• Reply 11 of 22

  mknelson Posts: 1,127member

  September 14, 2023 5:22PM

  mretondo said:

  OMG the Belkin and Plugable cables are not Thunderbolt cables they're USB4 cables. The USB4 logo are printed on the cables.

  https://www.usb.org/usb4
  
  "The USB4 Specification complements and builds upon the existing USB 3.2 and 2.0 architectures. Based on the Thunderbolt™ protocol specification contributed by the Intel Corporation, USB4 doubles the maximum aggregate bandwidth of USB and enables multiple simultaneous data and display protocols.
  
  The USB4 architecture defines a method to dynamically share a single high-speed link with multiple end device types to best serve the transfer of data by type and application. As the USB Type-C connector has evolved into the role as the external display port of many host products, the USB4 specification provides the host the ability to optimally scale allocations for display data flow. Compatibility with existing USB 3.2, USB 2.0, and Thunderbolt 3 hosts and devices is supported, and the resulting connection scales to the best mutual capability of the devices being connected.  "

  
• Reply 12 of 22

  freeassociate2 Posts: 179member

  September 14, 2023 7:02PM

  Mike Wuerthele said:

  dewme said:

  When I see “bad” in the title I equate that with a functional deficiency. Maybe “overpriced” or “ridiculously overpriced” or “a bad deal” would be more appropriate since the cables do work as intended, but at a price that only true believers would find acceptable.

  This is addressed in the lede.

  No, it’s buried in the lede, which is an old and ethically questionable journalistic trick.
  
  The article doesn’t actually get to a legitimate spec to price critique until the fourth paragraph. 

  
• Reply 13 of 22

  freeassociate2 Posts: 179member

  September 14, 2023 7:24PM

  Mike Wuerthele said:

  mretondo said:

  OMG the Belkin and Plugable cables are not Thunderbolt cables they're USB4 cables. The USB4 logo are printed on the cables.

  OMG they still work as Thunderbolt cables, and will charge devices better than long active Thunderbolt 3 cables.

  The Thunderbolt “4” symbol is also there in the Amazon pics for the Plugable cable. Haven’t dug into the specs, but all my TB4 cables from them have the number on them, while the strictly USB-C cables have the throughput (10, 40, 100, etc) on them.
  
  IMPORTANT: If you get longer cables for your docks and hubs keep your old ones where you can get to them. Service techs will often ask you to use the original (or same brand) cables during diagnostics. Both OWC and Plugable have requested this from me, in the past.
  
  Of note, both companies have good customer service, in my experience. But I prefer Plugable in general. Especially since OWC’s pricing for SoftRaid XT updates has become ridiculous — more than Office, Parallels, and many other software packages.

  
• Reply 14 of 22

  mretondo Posts: 92member

  September 14, 2023 8:19PM

  mknelson said:

  mretondo said:

  OMG the Belkin and Plugable cables are not Thunderbolt cables they're USB4 cables. The USB4 logo are printed on the cables.

  https://www.usb.org/usb4
  
  "The USB4 Specification complements and builds upon the existing USB 3.2 and 2.0 architectures. Based on the Thunderbolt™ protocol specification contributed by the Intel Corporation, USB4 doubles the maximum aggregate bandwidth of USB and enables multiple simultaneous data and display protocols.
  
  The USB4 architecture defines a method to dynamically share a single high-speed link with multiple end device types to best serve the transfer of data by type and application. As the USB Type-C connector has evolved into the role as the external display port of many host products, the USB4 specification provides the host the ability to optimally scale allocations for display data flow. Compatibility with existing USB 3.2, USB 2.0, and Thunderbolt 3 hosts and devices is supported, and the resulting connection scales to the best mutual capability of the devices being connected.  "

  I know all about USB4 and Thunderbolt. All I was saying is the author put pictures of USB3 or USB4 cables and in the captions below called them Thunderbolt 4 which they are not. Thunderbolt 4 cables can do more than USB4 cables which is why they cost more. If they were Thunderbolt cables the icon on the cable would have a lighting bolt followed by either a 3 or a 4. The pictures clearly show the USB icon.

  edited September 2023
• Reply 15 of 22

  mretondo Posts: 92member

  September 14, 2023 8:35PM

  To clarify, USB-C tells you nothing about wether the cable is a USB3, USB4, Thunderbolt 3 or Thunderbolt 4. USB-C just means USB TYPE "C" connector (the fiscal shape). All the mentioned protocols I mentioned use the USB-C type connecter but tells you nothing about what kind of cable it is, that's where the icon on the end of the cable comes in. If there is no icon then you can assume its USB3 and definitely NOT Thunderbolt which requires the icon. You can use a Thunderbolt 4 cable on any device that has a USB-C connecter because Thunderbolt 4 supersedes all the rest. But you can't use a USB4 cable for everything a Thunderbolt 4 cable can do. It will be fine if you just need it to transfer data at 40Gbps since USB4 cables can do 40Gbps like Thunderbolt 4. The other nice thing about Thunderbolt cables is they are required to be first certified by Intel. 

  edited September 2023
• Reply 16 of 22

  mretondo Posts: 92member

  September 14, 2023 9:00PM

  FYI to everyone, don't buy a Thunderbolt cable that doesn't have a lighting bolt followed by 3 or 4 or in the future a 5. If they don't then you know they haven't be certified and are fake crap. Thunderbolt is an open standard from Intel and it's free i.e. no licensing. There's no reason for a Thunderbolt cable not to be certified unless the company is trying to sell inferior cables. 

  
• Reply 17 of 22

  9secondkox2 Posts: 2,742member

  September 15, 2023 1:25AM

  ITGUYINSD said:

  Why does the article keep referring to the 12.9" iPad Pro as some sort of "power-hungry" device suitable for the 240W charging cables (alongside the MacBook Pro)?
  The iPad Pro 12.9 ships with a 20W adapter.  Hardly a candidate for needing a 240W charging cable.

  Bruv,
  
  my 12.9” iPad Pro is extremely demanding when it comes to charging compared to my iPhone. I’m pretty sure that’s where ithe coming from. 

  
  

  People need to chill with the headline and some of the other terms. Yes, Apple’s cables are “bad” as in a very bad deal. The headline isn’t actually cramping on apple. It’s a bit tongue in cheek and much appreciated in a too serious world full of bland wordsmithing. And the iPad Pro takes a while to charge, so it’s “power hungry” in comparison to the iPhone and even other iPads. if you’re getting faster speeds, great. 

  
  

  My God man. 

  
  

  
  

  

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• Reply 18 of 22

  applebynature Posts: 116member

  September 15, 2023 1:44AM

  Y'all don't even put in the article how much the Apple offerings are! 
  WTF? The ONLY reason y'all cite for them being "bad" is the price, yet I have absolutely no idea what the prices for them are after reading the article (before doing MY OWN research to find out)
  Classic AppleInsider

  
• Reply 19 of 22

  Bart Y Posts: 67unconfirmed, member

  September 15, 2023 6:52AM

  An article about supposedly “bad” Apple cables, as in overpriced, not defective.  AI gives a number of alternatives, then provides links to Best Buy to purchase them.  Shall we presume AI gets a commission on any purchases?  Does that mean this is more of a revenue generating article which may influence the content?  

  
  

  Sorry, that’s the way it looks to me.

  
• Reply 20 of 22

  mretondo Posts: 92member

  September 15, 2023 4:05PM

  Mike Wuerthele said:

  aderutter said:

  Ridiculous heading and silly article.
  
  If you need a 3 metre TB4 cable what you gonna buy? Is there an alternative when you need 3 metres? 
  
  My Apple TB4 Pro 3 metre cable is really, really nice and does everthing I want with a price I’m happy with. It’s far nicer than my 2m Caldigit TB4 cable for example. I’ll stick to buying the best even if it costs more. 
  
  
  

  This isn't a three meter cable, it's a one-meter cable for $70.

  
  

  We're on record about the three-meter cable being good.

  Yes, and this from Apples website. There are alternatives to Apples cables and they all will work up to 3 feet and usually will work at 6 feet, but at 10 feet you want the best as that's when cables start to work or don't work. Do not skimp on money when you're buying 10 foot cables!

  Thunderbolt 4 (USB‑C) Pro Cable (3 m)

  $159.00