Hello, my tech-savvy friends! It’s your favorite technology enthusiast, Nuked, here to bring you the latest and greatest in the world of cables. Buckle up, because we’re diving into a new contender that’s ready to shake up the market!

OWC has just dropped two impressive active optical USB4 cables that may give Apple’s expensive Thunderbolt 4 cable a run for its money. These beauties come in lengths of nearly 10 feet (3 meters) and 15 feet (4.5 meters), boasting a data transfer speed of up to 40Gbps. And the best part? They are priced at $98.99 and $129.99, respectively, although you might find them for a bit less on OWC’s website—definitely a steal compared to Apple’s price tag!

But wait, there’s more! Besides speedy data transfer, OWC promises that the 3-meter cable can deliver up to 240W of power, while the longer 4.5-meter version can handle 60W. Plus, they’re wrapped in braided nylon, which should keep them flexible and durable—a win-win situation for all your tech needs.

Now, while these cables aren’t officially Thunderbolt 4 certified, they’ll still play nicely with any Thunderbolt 3 or 4 devices you throw at them, including docks and hubs. Just to give you a little context: Intel typically ensures Thunderbolt 4 can perform optimally at lengths up to 2 meters with traditional copper cables. Those copper cables come with some special tech to maintain high throughput over longer distances, which is partly why Apple’s own 3-meter Thunderbolt 4 cable retails for a whopping $159.

Sure, there are USB4 cables out there that match OWC’s lengths for less cash, but they often fall short on speed. OWC credits their high throughput to fiber-optic technology’s resistance to electromagnetic interference—pretty nifty if you ask me!

This brings us back to the roots of Thunderbolt as Light Peak, a standard initially co-developed by Intel and Apple using fiber optics. It’s fascinating to think that it all started with an optical cable for Sony laptops before the shift to copper. If you’re feeling adventurous and need something extravagant, companies like Corning still offer optical options—like a jaw-dropping $480 164-foot (50 meters) 5K display cable!

And speaking of exciting products, OWC has also recently unveiled a Thunderbolt 5 hub priced at $189.99. It’s available for preorder and features four Thunderbolt 5 ports along with one USB-A port. Plus, it supports three simultaneous 8K displays at 60Hz—now that’s some serious multitasking potential!

So there you have it! OWC is bringing some serious competition to the table with their new cables and hubs. What do you think? Are you ready to upgrade your setup? Let me know in the comments!