Apple’s older 12in MacBook features one 5Gbps Gen 1 USB-C port, while the later Intel MacBook Air (2018 and later) and MacBook Pro (from 2016) boast either two or four 40Gbps Thunderbolt 3 ports.

Using appropriate cables, you could achieve 4x performance from a single port. Many use Thunderbolt 3 and USB-C interchangeably, but they have very different applications. USB-C is a type of port ...

Macs use Thunderbolt cables that have the same ... although Apple restricts fast-charging for that model to its own $49/£49 USB-C to MagSafe 3 Cable, which is included with all MacBooks.

Thunderbolt (3, 4, or 5) and USB4 cables offer the highest charging and data transfer speeds possible for USB-C as of this writing. But most people don’t exactly need those tip-top specs ...