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Apple's Lightning Authentication Reportedly Cracked, Unauthorized Third-Party Cables Coming
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"So, when do you think we're gonna get that USB 3.0 thing .... In the next one?"
When its actually needed. Why upgrade to USB 3.0 if the read/write speeds on the phone don't even match the top read/write speeds of USB 2.0?
I've already had one official Apple Lightning cable die on me. Perfect condition on the outside, as you would expect for a two week old cable, but it's completly dead. I'm not alone, mac forums are full of similar issues.
What kind of warranty do you get from these guys? I'm not buying for that very reason!
What kind of warranty do you get from these guys? I'm not buying for that very reason!
lol doubt all you want. i have zero reason to lie on a forum about comp'd cables.
I like apple but you are right greedy idk for what money they made is more than us government has. #
Actually good assessment.
I was thinking the chip was initially used to make the lightning connector work properly. I have seen other chips embedded in connectors before, such as my HDMI cable. As the repor does verify it.
But I could see the need for such an authentication chip if faulty cheap connectors could actually fry the iPhone as it uses adaptive technology and the power pins are not preset but change according to device.
I rely heavily on my iPhones for in-car... Still waiting to see what the 30-pin-to-lightning adapters will do. Let alone what's happening or not happening with car docks.
I'm starting to think bluetooth and a charging cable is the best future-proofing. Thanks Apple.
Awesome!
That's what Apple gets for being so close minded.
A dock is a must... I miss my iPhone 4S already...
That's what Apple gets for being so close minded.
A dock is a must... I miss my iPhone 4S already...
Probably because they keep using Apple's copywrighted images.
Every knockoff auction I've seen uses the offical Apple images and then says it's a pre-order.
If they waited until they had the actual knockoff in hand and then used a picture of the actual knockoff I doubt that there'd be any grounds for killing the auction.
Until then it's false-advertising pure and simple.
Can that cable double as a necklace? it is over-the-top awesomesauce.
I love how it contrasts with the _spare_ apple design. Rock On!
I love how it contrasts with the _spare_ apple design. Rock On!
Would you really like to carry around multiple cables for different functions? Or just ONE cable that did everything? Think about it, it is Apple after all.
That's the thing. I don't carry the cables around. I put them in one place and that's right where they stay. One by the bed, one in the car, one at desk and so on. Right now I have a cable I have to carry around everywhere because I only have one. I'd rather just have some basic charging cables and not worry about data, pin switching and all that stuff when a majority of the time I'm just charging my phone. Give me five 6' charging cables and one real apple cable and I'll be perfectly happy.
Yeah would be great if they were all the same but if this chip thing is that big of a deal can't they just bypass it for charging only is more of what I'm asking.
The costs he mentioned are the estimated *wholesale* cost of a cable with the requisite chip. Also, for low-cost, high volume items (like cables) the mark-up is typically *more* than 400%. (And I'm not even talking about the ones at the low end of absurd like Monster.)
That power cable you bought for your desktop because you lost or damaged the original one? It cost you about $6 in a retail shop. It cost the shop about $1. Why? Because they have to keep a relatively large stock of them, and on an item-by-item basis, they contribute virtually no income to the store.
A 'typical' mark-up for a small business, such as a coffee shop, is about 100%. At that rate, they can (with luck) pay their employees, their rent, and other fixed costs and have about 10% left over as profit. Larger businesses tend to have roughly the same mark-up, but can get lower prices from their suppliers due to volume.
Face it though. A $20 charging cable isn't even remotely unusual at retail, unless it's from a 'generic' or 'store' brand and the quality between those various brands can (and does) vary quite a bit.
They sell them for 30 and 40 dollars... :-\
10 dollars for an added 8 inches of USB cable...
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I am not exactly thrilled about docking my phone with such a tiny little port being the only thing holding the phone vertical. I do like having a Dock option, however this looks a bit too fragile.
I have had my universal dock survive some considerable accidental bumps over the years, I could easily see this lightning connector break off inside a phone in those cases, possibly damaging the phone at the same time.
I have had my universal dock survive some considerable accidental bumps over the years, I could easily see this lightning connector break off inside a phone in those cases, possibly damaging the phone at the same time.
Bingo. I want a standard length cable or two for home, a short cable for the car, and a longer cable for at work where the 3' cable is too short. And I'd like them all in black to match my black iPhone.
Unfortunately, Apple only offers a single length cable in white. Based on history they will offer no other choices, and they are apparently in no hurry to let 3rd parties make official "made for iPhone" cables.
Ok, let's play for a moment.
I've got a charging/syncing cable that needs USB protocol over it.
I've got a dock device which provides power but wants digital audio/video signals.
If there's no chip ('smarts') in the cable or dock connector, how does the phone tell the difference between 1 lightning connector and the next? Remember, the phone can't *see* the dock or cable, it can only tell what's at the other end of the connector if something can tell *it*.
With USB devices, the pin-out is fixed, so they can negotiate the details (speed/power) over a predetermined configuration. With Lightning, the pin-out is dynamic, so any of those 8 pins could potentially be signal, power-in, or power-out as needed by a specific device.
This adds complexity (see the chip in the cable), but provides flexibility.