Couldn't the 4th wire also be a data wire if the LEDs are addressable?
There's no data line on the 4 wires. Only high speed mosfet generating a PWM signal to dim/brighten each color channel that will generate different colors. With a high speed camera, you can see them blinking at different rate. The retinal persistence does the rest.
Ah so addressables have 5 wires then?
the 5th and 6th wires are for the extra white.
https://www.witop-tech.com/smd-5050-rgbww-vs-cct-vs-rgb-vs-rgbw-led-strip/
(post is archived)