Apple Selling New 60W and 240W USB-C Woven Charge Cables

Thursday September 14, 2023 3:03 am PDT by Tim Hardwick

Following its iPhone 15 event on Tuesday, Apple released a few related accessories, including a USB-C to Lightning adapter and a one-meter Thunderbolt 4 Pro cable. It turns out the company has also made available a new 60W 1-meter USB-C Charge Cable ($19) and a 240W 2-meter USB-C Charge Cable ($29), designed for charging iPhone 15 models, iPads, and Macs.

USB C 60w 240w charge cable
Apple advertises the new woven charge cable with USB-C connectors on both ends as "ideal for charging, syncing, and transferring data between USB-C devices." It supports charging of up to 240 watts and transfers data at USB 2 rates.

Compatible with all iPhone 15 models and Apple's latest iPad and Mac models, the cable can be paired with a compatible USB-C power adapter to charge the devices from a wall outlet and take advantage of fast-charging capabilities.

While the new standard iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus are equipped with a USB-C port, data transfer over a cable remains limited to USB 2.0 speeds of up to 480 Mbps, which is equal to the Lightning port on previous iPhones.

The higher-end iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max are also equipped with a USB-C port, but those devices support USB 3 data transfer speeds of up to 10 Gbps over a cable. For this reason, Apple made its previously-existing Thunderbolt 4 Pro cable available in a shorter one-meter size for $69.

(Thanks MacRumors forum member BeatCrazy!)

Tag: USB-C

Top Rated Comments

Chiromac81

34 months ago

Brutal. Seriously they gimped the USB-C to Usb 2 speeds?? Lmao

Score: 31 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Natrium

34 months ago

Tim Apple: enjoy the USB-C port you’ve been asking for, handicapped with decade old Lightning speeds, unless you pay for the iPhone Pro

Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Saturnine

34 months ago

While Apple certainly could have done better with the transition over to USB-C, the USB standards body need to take an awful lot of responsibility for this mess.

The vast majority of people expect that, if a cable fits, it’s the right cable. I had a box full of USB-C cables yet I had no idea which supported USB 2.0 speeds and which supported USB 3.2 Gen 1 or beyond. I also had no idea of the charge levels they support.

I recently decided to trash the lot and buy a bunch of new cables that would work for any purpose. Something that would support USB 4.0 40Gbps and 240W charging. It turns out that those cables are pretty rare, pretty short and pretty expensive. Add to that the unreliability of purchasing cheap, Chinese cables which may not be what they’re advertised to be and you’ve got a problem.

I ended up purchasing a few certified USB 4.0 240W from Cable Matters.

I know that the USB-IF are currently rebranding. I would love to see the data rate and maximum charge rate printed on every cable. I believe that’s now starting to happen. I also believe retailers like Amazon should do more to highlight certifiable products. E.g. to provide a button linking to a particular product’s certification, ensuring that it’s genuine and meets the standards advertised.

Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Aleco

34 months ago

I got the 240W cable in yesterday, it's thick. MagSafe 3 cable next to it for comparison.