Introduction

Since Intel released the long-anticipated Light Peak technology and named it "Thunderbolt", more and more smart devices have been equipped with full-featured Thunderbolt ports, which not only support basic operations such as charging but also offer powerful expansion capabilities such as video transmission, Ethernet connection, and data transfer.

Previously, ChargerLAB has introduced many Thunderbolt cables, and today we're going to review the USB4 cable from SanDisk. Although its industrial-style appearance is not exquisite, the thickened coating material and the specially designed PIN undoubtedly allow this cable to achieve more versatile functions.

Product Appearance

The SanDisk USB4 cable is made of PC material and has a slightly stiff body, with no identification labels on the cable itself.

The USB-C connector has a prolonged molded terminal, and the gloss of the aluminum alloy port can be seen through a small opening.

The USB-C connector adopts a specially PIN design.

The POWER-Z KM003C shows it supports 20V5A 100W power transmission and USB4 Gen3 (40Gbps) data transmission capability.

The overall length of the cable is about 16cm (6.3 inches).

Fast Charging

Firstly, let's use it to charge some devices.

Using the UGREEN 140W charger to charge the Black Shark 5 Pro, the power of the phone is 17.08V 5.17A 88.38W, that means the SanDisk USB4 cable can support 5A current transmission.

Then, using the UGREEN 140W charger to charge the 11-inch iPad Pro, the power is 14.97V 2.24A 33.51W, and that means the SanDisk USB4 cable can support 3A current transmission.

Using the UGREEN 140W charger to charge the Huawei MateBook, the power is 19.95V 3.02A 60.21W.

Finally, charge the 16-inch MacBook Pro M1 Max 2021, the power is 19.83V 4.64A 92.11W, that means the SanDisk USB4 cable can support 4.64A current transmission.

Data Transmission

Apart from fast charging, let's test what kind of high standard data transmission the SanDisk USB4 cable supports.

Connect the cable to the Thunderbolt port of the 16-inch MacBook Pro M1 Max 2021 and the USB4 hard drive enclosure loaded with the Samsung 970EVO 250GB SSD.

Then use the Disk Speed Test software to test the data transmission capability of the cable. The measured write speed is about 1492.4MB/s, and the read speed is about 2783.8MB/s, which is close to the transmission specification of Thunderbolt 3.

When used on Lenovo laptop running Windows, the USB4 hard drive enclosure is connected to the Thunderbolt port of the laptop via the cable, and the hard drive is the Kioxia RD20 500GB version. Use the CrystalDiskMark speed test software to test the SSD. The read speed can reach 2895.56MB/s, and the write speed can reach 1268.83MB/s.

Video Transmission

Finally, let's take a look at whether the SanDisk USB4 cable supports video transmission.

Connect the cable to the Thunderbolt port of the 11-inch iPad Pro and a 4K display, and verify that the display can be lit up normally, indicating that the cable supports video signal transmission.

The display shows the resolution is 3840x2160 60Hz, aka 4K.

Voltage Drop Test

Voltage drop test is an important factor to measure the quality of the cable. During daily use, when the charger outputs the voltage and current to one end of the cable, it passes through the cable to the other end, which creates the voltage drop.

Connect the cable to the power supply and the electrical load, respectively. And we will test the voltage drop value under different voltage and current. Here is the result.

We also draw them into a chart. The highest voltage drop value is 0.43V at 20V 5A. And the lowest is 0.08V at 20V1A.

Summary of ChargerLAB

Despite its industrial appearance, the SanDisk USB4 cable have impressive performance in charging, data transfer, and video transmission. It can support charging power of 20V5A 100W, Thunderbolt data transfer speeds of 40Gbps, and support 4K 60Hz video signal transmission.

It has been tested to have Thunderbolt 3 specifications for read and write speeds during data transmission. The cable itself has a USB4 Gen3 (40GB) data transmission specification, which is not exaggerated. Tests of voltage drop have demonstrated that the quality of the cable remains stable while voltage gradually increases from 5V to 20V.

As more smart devices, including tablets and laptops, become equipped with USB-C ports, the SanDisk USB4 cable can meet the needs of a variety of scenarios for users.

Related Articles：
1. How Lightning Cable Works? | Brief Introduction of Lightning Connector
2. Teardown of Apple Woven USB-C to Lightning Cable (1 m)
3. T-Shaped & MFi Certified | Native Union Launched 2-in-1 Belt Cable