Sean Hollister
You can’t convince me otherwise: this cable is the coolest part of Sony’s 30th Anniversary PlayStations.
“Unfortunately sick as hell” describes the whole package, but I’d even buy this cable solo.
USB-C
Sean Hollister
Andrew Liszewski
Andrew Liszewski
Antonio G. Di Benedetto
Sean Hollister
Tangle-free magnetic USB-C cables just got a facelift.
This is the Scosche Strikeline Cobra. Tiny magnetic strips woven into its thin braided jacket let it coil into a single solid object in your bag. Sadly, it’s a slow 480Mbps USB 2.0 cable, with 60W charging. Come on!
A firm called Supercalla pioneered magnetic coiling cables, and I owe the founders an apology — in the time since I wrote this story, I discovered they sell a 100W / 10Gbps cable that’s actually awesome, with strong magnets. Just wish it were longer than three feet!
Sean Hollister
Have yourself some more Thunderbolt 5.
Now that we’ve corrected the Razer flub, a few more Thunderbolt 5 gadgets we spotted at CES: an SSD from Sabrent, an OWC dock, and a TBT5 cable, none of them hooked up.
Don’t necessarily expect big adoption this year. Jason Ziller, aka Intel’s Mr. Thunderbolt, wouldn’t tell me if we’d get even a handful more TBT5 PCs this year (though peripherals should keep coming).
How about Apple? “You know they support every other version. That’s all I can tell you.”
1/17
Sean Hollister
Behold: the first Thunderbolt 5 port we’ve seen on an actual PC.
Razer put a Thunderbolt 5 port in its new Blade 18 laptop, which also now has a 4K 165Hz display. Here it is in the flesh at CES 2024 — admittedly in a dimly lit suite with nothing plugged in.
Don’t expect to charge-and-play with this port. The GPU alone can draw more than the current USB-C maximum of 240W. (See Razer’s beefy power socket on the left?) But do expect loads of bandwidth for monitors and peripherals.
Correction: Replaced image with an accurate one from Intel’s booth. Razer originally told us the left USB-C port was TBT5 as well.
Sean Hollister
We finally touched Thunderbolt 5 and Qi2 (but not meaningfully).
Here at CES 2024, Hyper, J5Create, and Belkin have items on display with the latest in docking and magnetic charging technology — but sadly, none of it is plugged in. Maybe because we’re still waiting on Windows laptops and Android phones to adopt the tech. (There’s nothing to dock yet, right?)
I’m seriously looking forward to 240W charging and 120Gbps speeds from my USB-C ports, though, not to mention a “MagSafe for Android.”
1/17
Wes Davis
The Vergecast USB-C holiday spec-tacular has forced my hand.
Having escaped a week in the internet dead zone of my in-laws’ house, I’m finally listening to last week’s Vergecast on the USB-C spec. It’s a great dive into a bleak, confusing nightmare realm.
But also, to my colleague David Pierce, who said at the top he’s never made eggnog: Here. I make this recipe every year but with half the sugar and twice the cloves.
Andru Marino
Wes Davis
The new 16-inch MacBook Pro supports 140W USB-C fast charging.
MacRumors spotted that the Apple fast-charging support document now says the newest 16-inch MacBook Pro supports USB-C fast-charging with the included 140W Apple adapter and the 240W USB-C cable the company released earlier this year.
Previously, the page said the 16-inch MacBook Pro could only fast-charge with MagSafe.
Tom Warren
Wes Davis
USB-C Mac accessories will be here, eventually.
I’m a touch miffed that the new iMacs still use Lightning accessories — that’ll change, but when? Next year, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman in today’s subscriber edition of Power On.
I suppose if Apple is waiting until the 11th hour to comply with the EU’s common charger rule, desktop input devices are the right ones to do it with. Still, it sure felt like last week would’ve been the right time for it.
Apple can’t quit Lightning
Wes Davis
Wes Davis
iPhone 15 on the big screen.
If you’ve been dying for 4K wired video output on the iPhone, the iPhone 15, just like other USB-C phones, has you covered (via 9to5Mac, @aaronp613).
Apple already has solutions for older iPhones among the few Lightning products the company still sells, but the most they offer is crummy 1080p video output. Terrible!
Now, through the magic of USB-C, the iPhone 15 supports pushing Dolby Vision and HDR10 video in 4K at 60Hz to your TV, if you insist.
Jay Peters
Jay Peters
The iPhone 15’s USB-C port will let you charge your AirPods and Apple Watch.
It’s one nice perk from the iPhone’s switch to USB-C.
Tom Warren and Dan Seifert
Lightning cables will soon join the junk pile of dongles, adapters, and accessories that Apple has left behind over the years — for better or worse.
Umar Shakir
Sean Hollister
Transparent batteries are hot.
I wouldn’t say they’re practical, but I absolutely love how they look — and the new $59 Icemag even has its own tiny RGB fan.
These three batteries are all from Sharge (I think it rhymes with “Charge”) and I can’t wait to see what the Shenzhen company does next. While I don’t own these batteries, I did Kickstart its tiny transparent SSD enclosure, where my old Steam Deck drive will hopefully soon live.
Antonio G. Di Benedetto
Antonio G. Di Benedetto
Jon Porter
I guess this was the least worst option.
Plugable has a new MacBook adapter out that’s designed to add Gigabit Ethernet and two USB-A ports to Apple’s 2021 14 and 16-inch MacBook Pros, or the 2022 MacBook Air.
The only problem is that the adapter seemingly isn’t able to offer a MagSafe port of its own, so you get this hilarious cutout instead. It’s still better than covering up the Magsafe port though.
Image: Plugable
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