A Look Inside Apple's $130 USB-C Cable

This video is part of a sponsored series with Lumafield. Learn more about these scans at: www.lumafield.com/article/usb-c-cable-charger-head… Apple Thunderbolt 4 cable: app.lumafield.com/project/fedc9b09-b696-4a7f-8270-… Amazon Basics USB-C cable: app.lumafield.com/project/a0fd9731-994a-403f-9710-… $5.50 USB-C cable: app.lumafield.com/project/f6ec539a-2775-44d1-a9e3-… $3.90 USB-C cable: app.lumafield.com/project/3c087b61-34e3-4836-9d2d-… How industrial CT scanning is used: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eesZBRW4u0

Instead of comparing Apple's cable to USB 2 cables, it would be more interesting to compare Apple's Thunderbolt 4 cables to an equally capable $60 Thunderbolt 4 cable (Cable Matters, Anker, OWC, Plugable, or Belkin for example) to see how similar or different the Apple cable is for twice the price.

Comparing a basic USB-C cable to a ANY Thunderbolt cable, not just Apple's, is going to be a drastic difference.

I love how they compared apples tb4 cable to other cables capable of tb4 signals... wait they didn't

So aside from being an Apple ad, where is the testing comparing the REAL WORLD performance between cables?

The scans are fantastic in their detail, and provide great non destructive information. However, these are not interchangeable cables and the non- Apple ones were never intended to be "imitations". They may have the same end connector, USB-C, but they conform to very different specifications. The Apple cable they is to Thunderbolt 4 specification, where as the others are to other USB specifications. This makes it seem that Apple is doing crazy engineering in comparison. It would be better to compare a different brand of Thunderbolt 4 cable to it. Then compare Apples $19 dollar USB C phone cable to the other USB cables for fairness. (Edit- added a combined response to a few comments below as a reply to this one) (Edit 25/10/23 @2006 UTC Not sure if the tested pinned comment has been edited to show that this is series sponsored by Lumafield or am I just misinterpreting/ misremembering it. If it is Lumafield then Apple got an advert out of it for free. Still doesn't change although the science was cool this video was poorly received by a fair few of us due to the way it was framed/described/thumbnailed and the way the cables were described as imitators or alternatives)

It would be interesting to compare thunderbolt to thunderbolt according to price point

As a radiologist who reads CT scans every day, I have to say I find Lumafield's application of CT technology absolutely fascinating. I wish we could achieve this level of resolution in our human patients, but the amount of radiation required for this level of detail would probably vaporize our patients.

Jokes on you, that chip is probably just there to make sure you are plugging an Apple cable into your phone.

Would have been nice to see a comparison between Apple’s £150 thunderbolt 4 compared to Anker’s £25 version, to see the real difference in QC & the apple tax on top ? It’s also Pointless comparing 40gb thunderbolt with a cheapo usb-c! Consumer advise needs to be better !

While I appreciate the time and effort that went into the production of the CT scans, this feels like an Apple advertisment all over the place. I would've LOVED to see a fair comparison between the $130 TB4 Apple cable, a mid-range competitor and a budget TB4 cable. Then make a comparison with a full blown 20Gbps USB4-Cable. Just because the cables have the same end termination (in this case USB-C as a standard for both USB AND Thunderbolt 3+4), doesn't mean that they're produced to the same spec.

Thank God I don't own a device that NEEDS a $130 cable

9:38 I am reminded of PC motherboards advertising impedance control like it's a special feature and not just a basic requirement.

important thing to note, you are comparing a thunderbolt 4 cable against a usb cable. These have totally different requirements. The comparison is unfair and should've been between expensive/cheap thunderbolt cables

I would have liked to see an actual thunderbolt cable compared to the Apple cable. These cables are probably used to charge a phone and that’s it.

Do you need a special case to hold the cable in or else it breaks if you drop it on the floor?

Ah no wonder they got some great talents up in here. That Apple paycheck must be good

USB-C and Thunderbolt are two different types even though they share the same male standard. Try comparing to a real off-brand thunderbolt cable. Thunderbolt is designed to carry more than a standard USB-C, which is why the look different on the inside. With that being said, I would never pay 130 for any cable.

I'm disappointed that they didnt work their way through the market instead of looking at the most expensive cable and the the cheapest. As with most things there is usually a good quality product that is below the cost of the premium.

Can you put a paid promotion notice at the start?