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Just2Good

macrumors member
Mar 26, 2012
83
1
Good news but I'll let someone else be the guinea pig. A $10 savings isn't worth frying my $600 iPhone.

LOL first time i read this i thought it said "$6,000" iPhone! Sometimes it feels about that much after all the money one has to invest in the accessories!
 

Tech198

Cancelled
Mar 21, 2011
15,915
2,151
ok, but being "unofficial", for a mere $9 or so, are they going to work ?

Anyone would think, $30 is out-ragious.... not realise, this isn't a first for Apple.

They do sell adapters, but this is the first time people are complaining about the price tag of these adapters from Apple.

The question, is why only now ? Why not have done the same thing when the iPhone 4s/ipad 3 came out ? as while you didn't have to always buy adapters, those who have used the ipad 3 will know you have to use Apples own cable, and if you loose it, you need to buy another from Apple.... these are not $9 either.

I don't see all the fuss. I'd gladly pay $30..... but if you wanna complain at something, thunderbolt cables is more of a reason to do this..
 

lcs101

macrumors 6502
Jan 28, 2010
264
181
As others have said, I would much rather pay the $20 for the Apple cable (not adapter) than $14 for the unlicensed one.
 

unplugme71

macrumors 68030
May 20, 2011
2,827
754
Earth
Maybe someone in the US could buy lots of 10,000 and sell them on ebay for $10 shipped. Paying $15 or $20 - i'd pay the $20 and know its quality. But at half the price, I might be willing to buy the 3rd party then.
 

Medic311

macrumors 68000
Jul 30, 2011
1,659
58
since these cables have chipsets now i predict the possibility of a cat and mouse game with iOS updates from Apple where they could essentially "brick" these knockoff cables from being used with the OS. no one has mentioned this capability which wasn't possible with the 30 pin cables
 

nagromme

macrumors G5
May 2, 2002
12,546
1,196
Their HDMI adapter for Lightning is $50 (up $10 from the 30 pin version). It's 25% the cost of buying an iPhone on contract.

I understand Apple is a business but this truly is disgusting.

I’m not sure $10 is that awful for the new chip and the complexity it carries. It’s a premium of a few bucks... on top of the old cable that was already very pricey. The total, $50, is too high: you may as well double that and get an AppleTV... go wireless!

Which is what I’ll do at the next AppleTV update.
 

RMo

macrumors 65816
Aug 7, 2007
1,253
281
Iowa, USA
...So if you use the cable only with your phone the cable would never have to re-assign a pin. I can see why the cable could be simpler if it only had to work with one device.

The cable doesn't "remember" what pins were assigned to what when you unplug it--it's figured out dynamically each time the cable is plugged in, and it depends a lot on the device itself to figure this out. And even with the Lightning-to-USB cable, the assignments can be different depending on whether you're just charging or have hooked it up to a computer to sync with iTunes.
 

definitive

macrumors 68020
Aug 4, 2008
2,050
894
good. screw apple's greed tactics to get customers to pay premium prices on basic cables. it's like monster cables.
 

FSMBP

macrumors 68030
Jan 22, 2009
2,712
2,623
I’m not sure $10 is that awful for the new chip and the complexity it carries. It’s a premium of a few bucks... on top of the old cable that was already very pricey. The total, $50, is too high: you may as well double that and get an AppleTV... go wireless!

Which is what I’ll do at the next AppleTV update.

That's what it looks they Apple is doing - pushing AppleTV.
 

BeyondtheTech

macrumors 68020
Jun 20, 2007
2,146
715
$10 for a knock-off is fine. $4 for shipping is acceptable. But $4 shipping for each cable when you can throw a bunch in the same box? That's where I have an issue with.

If I get 10 cables, it shouldn't impact the shipping costs so dramatically if I were only to get 1 cable.

So, to that end, I'll just get the real one.
 

ersatzplanet

macrumors regular
Jun 30, 2008
128
99
I would expect that docks and devices that cradle the phone like a doc will get cheaper since they don't need the extra circuitry that allows the plug to be used in either orientation. In a dock you can only plug it in one way. That should make it a lot cheaper.
 

yakapo

macrumors 6502
Jul 11, 2008
254
235
hmm... My wife feels like her lte ipad 3 is a little heavy so I wouldn't mind getting a 4g ipad mini. However I have no interest in messing with this new magical cable. Hopefully in the next few months we'll see more 3rd party options.
 

jshbckr

macrumors 6502
Apr 20, 2007
421
1
Minneapolis, MN
Their HDMI adapter for Lightning is $50 (up $10 from the 30 pin version). It's 25% the cost of buying an iPhone on contract.

I understand Apple is a business but this truly is disgusting.

Don't use the contract pricing as a comparison. Hell, the month-to-month payment you make is probably 50% of the price you paid for the phone! If you want to play that game, I'll sell you the $50 HDMI adapter for the low, low price of $5, but you have to sign this contract for me to let you use it for $5/mo for two years. Sound like a better deal?
 

840quadra

Moderator
Staff member
Feb 1, 2005
9,256
5,968
Twin Cities Minnesota
Since when have we started paying $30 for cables?

As others have said, $20, not $30 for the USB lightning cable. And OEM to OEM, $20 appears to be the asking price for proprietary USB charging / connectivity cables.

http://www.samsung.com/us/mobile/galaxy-tab-accessories/ECC1DP0UBEGSTA

Galaxy Tab™ Data Cable (Charging) USB to 30 Pin
This SAMSUNG 30-Pin to USB Charging Data Cable provides the ability to connect your SAMSUNG Galaxy Tab™ to your compatible PC allowing your Galaxy Tab™ to become an external modem while also charging and syncing your data.

$19.99
 

lamenramen

macrumors regular
May 14, 2012
129
0
I would be worried that you would have to jailbreak a cable now too.

I don't know enough technically about lightning to know if Apple could prevent your cable from working if it had an unauthorized chip.

Apple has done this before--charging exorbitant prices. See: ipad mini.

In fact, this is what Apple always does. They are the BMWs of the tech world. Not quite lamborghini territory where no one can afford it, but BMW where you'll feel it in the pocketbook if you buy it. But at least you can.

I've been waiting for Android to get its act together for some time now.
But they haven't. As soon as they do, I'm out. Every time I've gone and used Android, thinking that the next new device was so technically superior, I've been disappointed. It's like having great interior design and seats, a great paint job, only to realize that the engine and other core internals just aren't designed properly. Job #1 is to only allow nexus devices to say that they run Android.

The best solution, economically, is to stay 1 generation behind the latest and greatest ios product. There are jailbreaks, cheap accessories, and the good user experience--all plentiful and ready to go. Then next year when the iphone 5 is old news, upgrade to that, while still holding out hope that Android acquires some common sense.
 

everything-i

macrumors 6502a
Jun 20, 2012
827
2
London, UK
since these cables have chipsets now i predict the possibility of a cat and mouse game with iOS updates from Apple where they could essentially "brick" these knockoff cables from being used with the OS. no one has mentioned this capability which wasn't possible with the 30 pin cables

I doubt that is possible, the cable only identifies what it is there is no special code to identify an authorised cable.
 

macs4nw

macrumors 601
So you risk a £400 device for a saving of £10 on a cable. These cables look pretty low quality junk, you hardly save anything by using them, and risk damaging your expensive device. Think I'll pass on this one.

The apple able is not a 10 cent cable. THere is considerable amount of electronics inside the end shells. In the 30 pin version there is an entire audio interface inside with A/D converters. Basically there is a tiny computer inside the cable. Next we can ask if this is a smart design or not. Bt it is not a simple cable.

$9 plus $4 shipping for a knock off that Apple charges $19 for? Puh-lease. I'll spend the extra $6 and get the real thing.

$15 for a 3rd party cable that will inevitably break or stop working soon after purchase? No thanks. Ill spend $4 more for the real deal.

Even the copies are expensive, looks like its not so much of a rip off after all.

It's a no-brainer, people. $4-$5 extra for peace of mind. Period.
 

chrisbru

macrumors 6502a
May 8, 2008
809
169
Austin, TX
But they do not do anything that regular (say, USB) cables do. Was it a stupid decision on Apple's part?

Except that they do... The pins are dynamically assignable. Just because you don't see any added benefit RIGHT NOW doesn't mean you won't later. I imagine most of the value of the change to Lightning will be down the road with accessories and then the eventual change to USB 3.0 or Thunderbolt when the iPhone's storage can support those speeds.

It also future-proofs the connector, assuring that future technologies that Apple doesn't know about yet (maybe different video out connectors, whatever) will be able to be supported by the lightning connector.
 

Tiger8

macrumors 68020
May 23, 2011
2,479
649
$15 for a fake vs $20 for the real thing?

i'll take the real thing and not risk breaking my phone

maybe if it was $3 including shipping and a guarantee to work

This is the first drop in the bucket, give it a couple of months and you will get it for $3 shipped.
 

dugbug

macrumors 68000
Aug 23, 2008
1,865
1,926
Somewhere in Florida
lol

Nice marketing hyperbole, madam.

There's one born every minute, as they say.

:rolleyes:

Did you miss the lightning cable teardown?

The cable has a ti chip and other digital logic. It is not a USB cable with a different tip

It dynamically assigns pin personality based on a code from the cable. One personality is of course USB.
 

WestonHarvey1

macrumors 68030
Jan 9, 2007
2,771
2,187
Cracked? Like the cable has a crack in it so the supplier was willing to sell them cheap?

Or meaning they cracked some kind of authentication scheme (which the article says doesn't exist)?

Confused.
 
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