Roger Fingas
Apple began selling its first-ever self-branded Thunderbolt 3 cable on Thursday, timed alongside the introduction of the iMac Pro, which has four Thunderbolt/USB-C ports for monitors, external storage, and other add-ons.
The cable measures 0.8 meters, or about 2.62 feet. It enables speeds up to 40 gigabits per second, and can supply up to 100 watts of power.
The product costs $39, and Apple is quoting a Dec. 18 date for its first U.S. online deliveries. That's well before the iMac Pro, which should only arrive on doorsteps Dec. 27. Orders for 18-core models are only due in about 6 to 8 weeks.
The entry-level iMac Pro costs $4,999, and comes with an 8-core Intel Xeon processor, Radeon Pro Vega 56 graphics, 32 gigabytes of RAM, and a 1-terabyte SSD. Configurable upgrades can push prices as high as $13,199.
Aside from combination Thunderbolt/USB-C ports, the Pro also has four USB 3 ports, a headphone jack, an Ethernet connection, and an SDXC card slot.
Malcolm Owen
Christine McKee
Andrew Orr
William Gallagher
16 Comments
Cue the haters stating they can buy a cheap, Chinese-knockoff TB3 cable for $1.99 on Amazon with a fake Apple logo and be just as good.
But most people don’t know that the USB C cable from apple can’t do the same. I didn’t know that and I have a MBP with Touchbar. I also have several USB C cables from Apple and now I’m wondering if these will provide any advantage or what the use case would be for these. Ordering a new 4K monitor soon so I’d like to know before I order that.