Apple sells Thunderbolt 5 cables for the first time
The new Apple computers with TB5 via USB-C are not yet on the market, but the matching connectors are already available. They are backwards compatible.
The new Thunderbolt 5 cable from Apple: Expensive, but stable.
(Image: Mac & i)
Last week, Apple began selling cables for the new Thunderbolt 5 transmission standard for the first time. The cables are already available in the company's retail stores and online – interestingly, even before the corresponding computers are on the market. Mac mini M4 Pro and MacBook Pro M4 Pro as well as M4 Max will be released on Friday this week and are the first Macs to feature the new connection. Pure M4 models such as the new iMac or the Mac mini and the MacBook Pro without Pro (or Max) still come with Thunderbolt 4.
Cheaper, but shorter
Apple charges 79 euros for the new cable. It is 1 meter long and comes in black, no other colors are available. The price is – relatively cheap by Apple standards –. The old "Pro" cables with Thunderbolt 4, which are still available, cost 149 and 179 euros respectively, but are 1.8 and 3 meters longer than the new cable. The outer material is braided – which prevents "knotting", as Apple writes – and the connectors are bulky as usual thanks to the presumably expensive amplifier electronics.
Thunderbolt 5 uses a USB-C connector as usual, and fallback to slower standards is also supported. A theoretical throughput of 120 Gbit/s is now promised on computers and other hardware with full compatibility; Thunderbolt 3, 4 and USB 4 achieve a maximum of 80 Gbit/s gross. USB 3 data connections land at up to 10 Gbit/s gross. Apple promises DisplayPort 2.1 video output instead of DisplayPort with HBR3 and charging with up to 240 watts instead of the previous 100 watts.
Not easy to tell the difference
Is this Thunderbolt 4 or is it already 5? At first glance, Apple's Thunderbolt 5 Pro cable looks pretty much the same as its predecessor. Professionals will therefore need to mark the cable after removing it from the packaging to avoid confusion, although Apple's Thunderbolt 4 models are always longer, as mentioned above.
It remains to be seen whether there will also be Thunderbolt 5 Pro cables with longer lengths, but then redrivers would probably have to be used to amplify the signal. Apple also explains that the cable can be used to connect to six Thunderbolt devices in series. The cable is passive.
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