The most recent keynote of Manzana, “Peek Performance”, has left us multiple announcements. Some from brand new devices, including the Mac Studio and the Studio Display. However, as usual at the end of a company event, the Apple Store Online is also updated with new accessories. Interestingly, in the catalog we find a Thunderbolt 4 cable whose price will undoubtedly become a topic of conversation in the coming hours.
Believe it or not, the three-meter braided Thunderbolt 4 cable offered by Apple can be purchased for $129. On Spain and Mexico it has a price of €179 or 5,549 pesos, respectively. No, it’s not a joke. Certainly, Thunderbolt cables have never been cheap, much less those that support the latest version of the standard. However, that does not prevent us from being “surprised” at the price that Apple handles.
“Featuring a black braided design that coils without tangling, this 10-foot cable offers Thunderbolt 3, Thunderbolt 4 and USB 4 data transfers of up to 40 Gb/s, USB 3.1 Gen 2 data transfers of up to 10 Gb / s, DisplayPort video output (HBR3) and up to 100 W of charging power, “says Apple.
What can this cable be used for? For example, to connect a Mac with a Thunderbolt port to a external display with the same connector —like the Pro Display XDR or the new Studio Display—. It can also be used to connect high-speed external storage drives —and they are not cheap either— or the famous Docks to expand connections. On Macs with Intel processors, a Thunderbolt 3 cable is required to connect an external graphics processing unit (eGPU).
Beyond the standard, the cable reaches this price for its length and, of course, for being braided. In any case, despite the characteristics described, its cost will be unjustifiable for the vast majority.
Apple does it again
This is not the first time that Apple has blown our minds with the price of an accessory. Just a few months ago, specifically after the presentation of the new MacBook Pro, the company put up for sale a cleaning cloth for 25 euros in Spain or 549 pesos in Mexico. The uproar was so great that iFixit, the website specializing in device repair and analysis, inspected the “guts” of the handkerchief. Obviously, no one wanted to miss the train of absurdity.
Now, you might think that the price of the cloth caused the sales to be disappointing. Well, it wasn’t. quickly sold out and Apple managed to satisfy the demand in several countries until January of this year.
Want another example of a similar situation? In mid-2019, when the new generation of the Mac Pro was announced, the internet exploded when the price of the Mac Pro was known. wheel kit of said computer: 849 euros in Spain or 19,249 pesos in Mexico; almost what it costs to buy an iPhone premium. Of course, it was also sold.
You have to be aware of two situations. The first is that the Thunderbolt 4 cable will not be the last exorbitantly priced accessory. Second, that there will always be a market for everything.