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OWC has released two new super-long active optical USB4 cables<\/a>, available in lengths of nearly 10 feet (3 meters) and 15 feet (4.5 meters) and offering up to 40Gbps of data throughput. According to OWC\u2019s press materials, they\u2019ll set you back $98.99 and $129.99, respectively, though its website currently lists them for slightly less. That\u2019s a bargain, compared to what Apple is charging<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Data throughput aside, OWC says you can also expect the 3m option to provide up to 240W of power, while the 4.5m cable manages 60W. The cables are covered with braided nylon, too, which hopefully means they\u2019re nice and flexible. And although they aren\u2019t Thunderbolt 4 cables, they\u2019ll work the way you\u2019d expect with other Thunderbolt 3- or- 4-capable devices, including docks and hubs.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Intel generally guarantees Thunderbolt 4 performance at up to 2 meters<\/a> over traditional copper cables. Those cables need special tech inside to keep throughput up over longer runs, which is likely part of why Apple\u2019s 3-meter 40Gbps Thunderbolt 4 cable costs $159<\/a>. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n You can find some USB4 cables as long as OWC\u2019s for much less than that<\/a>, but the longer ones don\u2019t tend to offer the same high throughput, which OWC credits to the electromagnetic interference immunity of fiber-optics. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n OWC\u2019s cables are a bit of a throwback to Thunderbolt\u2019s roots as Light Peak, which was initially codeveloped by Intel and Apple as a fiber optic cable standard that made its way to a Sony laptop<\/a> just as the companies decided to go with copper<\/a>, instead. Optical, data-only Thunderbolt lives on at companies like Corning, which has you covered<\/a> if you need a $480 164-foot (50 meters) 5K optical display cable in your life.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Cables aside, OWC also recently announced a $189.99 Thunderbolt 5 hub, which went up for preorder in November<\/a> and is available now. It\u2019s got four Thunderbolt 5 ports and a single USB-A port and supports three simultaneous 8K displays at 60Hz. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n