After apple's spring conference in 2022, along with the release of ultra-high-performance Mac Studio, there is also a data cable that has been "noisy" on the hot search - Apple Thunderbolt 4 Pro cable. Although the popularity has taken a sharp turn with the replacement of hot searches, which is in line with the habits of public opinion for the "science and technology circle", the public opinion of "Apple sells a charging line for a thousand dollars" has spread, and many people have labeled Apple as "who buys who XX".
But is the truth that Apple sold an ordinary "charging cable" to 1,000 yuan? The answer is no. Apple's sale of the "Thunderbolt 4 Pro cable" is a high-specification, top-of-the-line Thunderbolt 4 data cable, then there must be a small partner who does not know what is a "thunderbolt data cable", nor understands why the "thunderbolt data cable" is sold to be so expensive, today I will give you a popular science.
Thunderbolt (Thunderbolt/ Thunderbolt) is the earliest connector standard developed by Intel in 2009, in 2011, the first generation of Thunderbolt was released, jointly developed by Intel and Apple, the interface form is Mini DP, its data cable up to 10 meters, two-way synchronous transmission speed of up to 10 Gbit/s.
Its technology uses the integration of two communication protocols, including PCI Express for data transmission, and DisplayPort for display, with the aim of replacing the peripheral device bus (USB, HDMI, etc.) of personal computers in the future to become a single bus for computers, first launched by MacBook Pro 2011.
The original intention of the Raiden protocol was to integrate the numerous and complex cables of the computer. Image courtesy of Intel official
The second generation of Raiden was released in 2013, jointly developed by Intel and Apple, the interface form is Mini DP, and the synchronous transmission speed is 20 Gbit/s. The upgrade doubles the synchronous transmission speed and supports the output capacity of 4K screens. First released by MacBook Pro with Retina (Late 2013).
The third generation of Raiden was released in 2015 and is currently the most widely used and familiar Thunderbolt protocol. Developed by Intel, the interface form is upgraded to USB Type-C, with a double bandwidth of 40 Gbit/s (5 GB/s), while adding support for high-speed charging, supporting up to 100W of charging power.
After the advent of this version of the Raiden 3 interface, thanks to its high-speed transmission bandwidth, as well as the universal and convenient Type-C interface and 100W charging capacity. It is not only widely used on Apple computers, but also seen in many high-end products of Windows systems (Lenovo Xiaoxin, HP Shadow Genie, Dell Lingyue, etc.), which was first launched by the MacBook Pro 2016.
Raiden 3 interface (40Gbps = 22Gbps data bandwidth + 18Gbps display bandwidth) can achieve dual-link 4K display screen output, or single-link 5K screen output. Based on PCIe 3.0 x4.
HDMI2.0 (4K 60Hz) and DisplayPort1.2 (5K 60Hz) are supported. At the same time, Raiden 3 is also widely used in notebook computers, desktop computers external hardware, such as external graphics cards, external high-speed solid-state drives and so on. Many Apple users use the Thunderbolt interface to connect an external SSD to fill the lack of hard disks that come with the fuselage.
The fourth generation of Raiden was released in July 2020, developed by Intel, the interface form was upgraded to USB Type-C, and the double bandwidth reached 40 Gbit/s (5 GB/s), which is mainly different from Raiden 3 in the support for USB4 communication protocols and the transmission speed of data, which removes the restriction on the 22Gbps bandwidth for data transmission, that is, the transmission data can also run full of 40Gbps bandwidth.
The minimum requirements for PCIe require more than 32Gbit/s (3000MB/s is basically the same speed as M.2 SSDs, making it more convenient to connect external high-speed solid-state), and support two 4K displays (DisplayPort 1.4).
From the Official Website of Intel, the difference between Raiden 4/3 and usb protocol
Raiden 4 supports dual 4K60Hz display output and dual 1080P240Hz display output, from The Intel official website
From the above introduction of the lightning protocol, we can know that the lightning interface and the lightning data line are not just the charging line so simple, it is a very advanced, strong integration of the bus interface, can be the only output and input interface of the computer. You can transfer keyboards and mice, USB sticks, network cables, SD cards, monitors, etc. through the Thunderbolt docking station, and you can also connect the graphics dock and the hard disk matrix.
Therefore, the lightning data cable adapted to the lightning interface will become expensive. Each genuine Thunderbolt 3/4 data cable needs to have Intel certification to ensure that the performance indicators of the data line meet the requirements, including transmission speed standards, reliable quality problems, compatibility, etc.
Requiring Intel certification requires a large amount of licensing fees, and although the Raider 3 product announced that it will no longer charge a license fee, the new Raiden 4 still requires a license fee. This is not difficult to see from the price of Apple's Raiden 3/Raiden 4 data line. The data line price of 0.8 meters in length of Raiden 3 is 320 yuan, while the price of 1.8 meters of Raiden 4 Pro is 949 yuan. After considering the impact of length on cost, the price of the former is still 1/2 lower than that of the latter.
After explaining why the Thunderbolt 4 data cable is more expensive than the Thunderbolt 3, let's take a look at how Apple's thousand-yuan Thunderbolt 4 data cable is. According to the description of Apple's official website, this 1.8-meter Thunderbolt 4 data cable adopts a black braided design (much higher than the cost of ordinary PVC skin and TPE skin) The parameter specifications are as follows. It can be seen that it is a standard Lightning 4 data cable that meets the Intel Raiden 4 certification.
On Jingdong, the same domestic accessories manufacturer brand a 2-meter Thunderbolt 4 data line certified by Intel is priced at 499 yuan. In terms of function, it is also the same as Apple's data line.
So why is the same specification of the data line, Apple's 1.8m than the above one 2m more expensive than the above 450 yuan, in addition to the cost of weaving the skin, where is the extra 400 yuan?
First of all, we have to exclude the impact of exchange rates and taxes on the price, the price of the same Apple Thunderbolt 4 Pro cable (1.8M) on the apple official website of the United States is 129 US dollars, which is equivalent to 815 yuan according to the current exchange rate.
The same data line in Singapore is priced at (S$179 equivalent to 830 yuan) and the tax price in Japan is 804 yuan, which is far lower than the domestic price of 949 yuan. The HKSAR is priced at HK$949, equivalent to RMB766.
In Europe, for example, in France, the price of the same data line is 149 euros, equivalent to about 1045 yuan (found the psychological balance point)
Because Apple adopts a global sales strategy, the selling price in each region must take into account the local tax rate on electronic products, for example, our country's consumption tax on Apple is 13%. If the impact of the tax on the price is not taken into account, the pre-tax price of the data line should be 835 YUAN. It can be seen that under the premise that Apple accessories are generally more expensive than domestic accessories, the premium of this Thunderbolt 4Pro data line is not as outrageous as thought.
Far more cost-effective than the 3 or 4 times premium of the Type-C to Lightning charging cable. Of course, here is not to wash the floor of Apple, users with professional needs can still consider buying, of course, if the price is still scorned by the small partner to consider the domestic big-name accessories factory's Thunderbolt 4 data line is also good.
Therefore, according to the above content, a conclusion can be drawn, apple's Thunderbolt 4Pro data line is expensive, but it is not unreasonable, nor is it very expensive, and some of the professional people it faces will still choose the data line, and for ordinary consumers, the current Thunderbolt 3 data line can basically meet daily use.
Apple 145 yuan glasses cloth
5249 yuan chassis roller (wheel average 1312 yuan)
Compared with the data line with technical content, some of Apple's accessories are really outrageous, such as the eyeglass cloth that was jaw-dropping some time ago, and the Mac Pro roller set that was once very popular, the wheels of each chassis are 1312 yuan, compared with some high-end family car tires are "much cheaper".
Although Apple's products are at the forefront of technology brands in terms of industrial design and quality, some incredible commodity prices still make many non-professional users feel confused and elusive.