Does 2023 Mac Studio support USB4 to connect a Thunderbolt monitor from 2015?

A 1407 is the Apple Thunderbolt Display 27-in.

https://everymac.com/monitors/apple/thunderbolt/specs/apple-thunderbolt-display-27-inch-specs.html

it is distinctive because its lead-in cord features ThunderBolt-2 and MagSafe -- and no others.

Its twin, the Apple Cinema Display 27-in (A1316) has a lead-in cord that includes a USB-A connector as well.

The Thunderbolt Display (ONLY) can be supported from a ThunderBolt-3 or Thunderbolt-4 Mac using the Apple Thunderbolt-3 <.-> Thunderbolt-2 adapter, about US$50. This adapter does not support any other types of displays, no matter how many more adapters you add.

USB-C port and cable would not provide a picture on this display.

Here are links to the adapter's U.S. Apple Store page, and to its support page:

Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter - Apple

About the Apple Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt 2 Adapter - Apple Support

Yes. Also FYI if the all in-one (octopus) cable is bad for some reason you can connect a TB cable directly to one of the TB ports on the display bypassing the octopus cable.

futurbot wrote:

So this A1407 monitor will work with the new Mac Studio if I get a $50 adaptor that adapts Apple Thunderbolt-2 (which it has) to Thunderbolt-3? I assume that means that the Mac Studio has Thunderbolt-3?

The Mac Studio has Thunderbolt 4 – which is compatible with Thunderbolt 3. Same top speed, but Intel took some of the stuff that was optional in Thunderbolt 3, and said "your implementation has to support this to get Thunderbolt 4 certification."

All of the Mac Studios have four rear-panel USB4 / Thunderbolt 4 ports.

On the M1 Max and M2 Max versions of the Mac Studio, the two front-panel USB-C ports are not Thunderbolt ports. All they carry is USB. So on the Max Studios, don't plug monitors into the front-panel USB-C ports and expect to get a signal.

futurbot wrote:

I haven't learned anything about an octopus cable yet. Does it come with the Mac Studio? And is frequently bad for some reason?

The octopus cable is the one attached to the Thunderbolt Display, the one that branches out to provide both Thunderbolt and MagSafe connectors.

I don't have one of those displays, but I gather that

• The cable is permanently attached to the display, and that
• The cable can, and sometimes does, go bad

The Thunderbolt Display has a Thunderbolt port that is meant to let you daisy-chain two Thunderbolt Displays, assuming that your Mac can drive at least two monitors. I have seen people write, in these forums, that if your Thunderbolt Display's octopus cable has gone bad, you can get around that by running a Thunderbolt 1/2 cable from the Thunderbolt 2 side of the Apple adapter to the Thunderbolt Display's daisy-chaining port.

what make & model display, or a link to its specs?

Apple display? LG? Panasonic? Sony? HP? Dell? something else?

futurbot wrote:

Thanks for jumping in. So it sounds like with an adaptor, I'll be able to plug this A1407 monitor into one of the four Mac Studio's rear ports that are Thunderbolt-4, but compatible to Thunderbolt-3, and therefore can use the Thunderbolt-3 -to- Thunderbolt-2 adaptor to achieve it.

That is my understanding. From the Apple Store page:

"In addition, it can be used to connect Thunderbolt-enabled displays — such as the Apple Thunderbolt Display and LG Thunderbolt 2 displays — to any of the Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) / USB 4 ports on your Mac."

For those planning to use it with notebook computers, there is the caveat:

"However, using this adapter with an Apple Thunderbolt Display requires a power source, because the display does not provide power through the adapter."

You wouldn't get power through the adapter, and the MagSafe connector on the hydra cable is for an older type of MagSafe that isn't compatible with the MagSafe 3 ports on current Mac notebook computers.

'octopus cable' in the context is just another name for the captive, multi-headed lead-in cable on your display.

The important part of tbirdvet mention is that IF that lead-in cable is BAD, the display is NOT Junk. it can be run with a ThunderBolt-2 into the ThunderBolt-2 port on the body of the display.