Why Is Apple's USB-C Cable $130?

[KGIII]

A video with Adam Savage. Even I know who he is!

I wouldn't normally recommend something like this, nor would I take the time to share it even without a recommendation.

However, this is not only informative - it has some lovely visualizations. Very few of us will care about Apple cables - but they're kinda worth the money (for the given task, should such task be a necessary task for you). It's absolutely amazing and the visualizations are stunning.

An amusing comment was about how our phones have more computational power than was used to put a man on the moon and how that's true for the cable itself. After seeing what's going on inside one of them, I'd have to agree.

It's not that long.

 

[Condobloke]

incredible.
As you said, the visuals are top notch !!....and then some.
When you see an ?xray? of the end of a cable that looks like this.....

....you know you are looking at absolute Brilliance !

Eat your heart out, Android.

 

[KGIII]

When you see an ?xray?

CT scan, I do believe it said. If it was done on you, it might be pronounced "CAT" scan, but it's just CT scan, as far as I know.

It's looking at density. These images are fascinating.

For those who didn't watch, those images are the terminations of the cable. It's also 'just the start' of the images they showed.

All that stuff is crammed into the tiny end of a cable.

 

[Vektor]

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[KGIII]

Just read this on hackaday

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Fresh hacks every day

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Vektor

Nice! That's not just a "look at this previous video", but actually informative.

The video is good.

Also, @Condobloke they appear to be using x-rays for the CT scan. I actually know nothing about CT scans so had assumed they were different. It's still using x-rays at the end of the day.

 

[KGIII]

Also, some further digging sent me to this playlist:

That's the process that has been used and is about 'industrial CT', though it's full of market-speak.

 

[Condobloke]

though it's full of market-speak.

We have another term for that in Australia....

I think that if you have the use for that particular cable, then $130 is cheap.

just imagine the drama you could have with cheaper versions.

When Apple do it, they usually get it right.

 

[KGIII]

We have another term for that in Australia....

We do too, but swearing is against the rules!

I think that if you have the use for that particular cable, then $130 is cheap.

I'd have scoffed at the idea of a $130 cable until I saw what went into one.

Fortunately, the situation hasn't arrived that means I need to eat crow! So, I've never called any Apple users crazy for buying a $130 cable.

Good thing, too! I'd definitely be dining on crow tonight.

 

[Condobloke]

Not sure if crow mixes well with wine....

 

[osprey]

In the olden days CAT = computerised axial tomography. Nowadays changed.

 

[KGIII]

I think that was my favorite bit. The fidelity amazes me.

For those that did not watch the video, that's REALLY small. It's meant to add latency (we assume) so that the nano-seconds line up for data transfer. This is inside of a cable. Seriously... It's like a 17 layer PCB in your normal-size cable. That's just a tiny, tiny component in a complex series fo components.

 

[bob466]

I bought a 2 mt charger cable for my Samsung tablet for $A19.00 last week...came with a 5 year warranty too.

https://www.officeworks.com.au/shop...o-usb-c-cable-black-cocmgr20bk#specifications