The Apple Thunderbolt 4 USB-C Pro cable is known for its high price, but a company called Lumafield conducted an analysis to understand what makes it more expensive. The cable offers versatile connectivity options, supports fast data transfer and charging, and features a metal shield and stainless steel construction. It also has 24 pins mounted independently on a 10-layer PCBA, ensuring faster data speeds compared to cheaper alternatives. Lumafield describes the cable as a "stunning piece of precision engineering," which justifies its higher cost.
It is no secret that
Apple
products are rather expensive. Often people wonder what’s inside them that Apple charges a premium. Take the case of the Apple’s
Thunderbolt
4 USB-C Pro cable. The 1m cable in India costs Rs 6,900 whereas the 3m cable costs Rs 15,900. Now, look from any perspective and that’s a lot of money for a charging cable. A company called Lumafield did a deep dive into the cable to find out what makes them more expensive than others in the market.
What is the Thunderbolt 4 Pro cable?
The cable, as per Lumafield, is a versatile connector catering to a broad spectrum of data transfer and charging needs.
It supports Thunderbolt 3, Thunderbolt 4, and USB 4 data transfer with speeds reaching up to a remarkable 40 Gb/s. “It also features DisplayPort video output (HBR3) and can charge devices by delivering up to 100 W, exceeding most data and power requirements with ease,” said Lumafield in a blog post.
What makes the cable more expensive?
According to Lumafield, the connector has a hard plastic enclosure; beneath it is a metal shield that’s fully bonded to the shell of the connector — all made of stainless steel. “Where the cord leaves the connector, we find a single-piece strain relief crimped in from eight different directions that shields the entire bottom of the assembly,” noted Lumafield. Furthermore, the Thunderbolt connector maxes out on almost every point; it has 24 pins, all mounted independently on a 10-layer PCBA.
In comparison, the really basic — and much more cheaper — Amazon Basics cable has 12 pins and four pairs of those are jumped across rather than individually connected to the PCBA. What this does is that it ensures Apple’s cable offers faster data speed than others.
Lumafiled calls the Thunderbolt cable “a stunning piece of precision engineering”. So, there you have it: the precision engineering is what makes this Apple cable more expensive than others.
