© Business Insider / Lisa Eadicicco
Pro XDR display from Apple (left) and Mac Pro (right) Business Insider / Lisa Eadicicco
- Apple started selling the Thunderbolt 3 braided cable that comes with its $ 5,000 Pro XDR display separately for $ 129.
- For that steep price, Apple’s cable offers some additional features that certain competitors lack, such as a larger size, more charging power for charging, and DisplayPort video output in addition to data transfer.
- It’s expensive, but not as expensive as some other plugins for Pro Display XDR and Mac Pro, like the $ 999 Pro Stand.
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You can now buy an Apple Thunderbolt 3 cable that is longer and offers some additional features not found in competing USB-C cables, if you’re willing to pay $ 129.
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Apple has quietly started selling a $ 129 Thunderbolt 3 braided cable that is two meters long (or about 6.5 feet) and can deliver up to 100 watts of charging power, as plugs like MacRumors and The Verge recently noted. It can also transfer data at up to 40 Gb / s and supports DisplayPort video output.
The $ 129 cable was only previously available when bundled with Apple’s $ 5,000 XDR display, but Apple recently started selling it separately.
It is certainly expensive for a cable, considering that it is possible to find USB-C cables from companies like Anker and Belkin that cost much less. But for the high price, it comes with some features that competitors lack.
Anker, for example, also sells a 100-watt USB-C to USB-C cable that only costs $ 20 on Amazon, but that cable is about half as long as Apple’s. The company also sells a six-foot long USB-C to Lightning cable for around $ 14, but the cable’s estimated maximum power delivery is just 18 watts, according to The Wirecutter.
Belkin also sells a two-meter-long $ 79.95 Thunderbolt 3 cable that can deliver up to 100 watts of power, but that cable doesn’t support DisplayPort video output like Apple’s does.
While it may seem like a high price for a cable, it appears that the intended audience for the cable is likely professional video editors who may be willing to pay more for high-end, reliable equipment, considering it was originally packaged with the Pro. XDR display.
© Apple
Apple Thunderbolt 3 Pro Cable Apple
Apple announced the Pro Display XDR in 2019 as a companion to its professional-grade Mac Pro computer, which starts at $ 5,999 and goes up to $ 50,000.
It’s a steep price, but not as expensive as the other accessories designed for Pro Display XDR and Mac Pro. Apple’s Pro Stand for Pro Display XDR, for example, costs $ 999, and wheels for Mac Pro cost $ 700.
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