Unofficial Lightning USB Cables and Adapters Launching Soon at Significant Discounts

It astounds me how many people refuse to believe there is an amazing amount of technology in these cables (a D/A converter, data transfer, charging capabilities, etc.).

I'm sure Apple is making some profit, but I don't think they're trying to rake their customers over the coals on this one.

It is no way comparable to Monster charging $150 for HDMI cables which perform exactly as well as your Monoprice HDMI cable for 5% of the cost.

That dock looks kinda huge. I really wish Apple would make one themselves.

Do you guys know how hard it is to harness Lightning? Of course it’s expensive!

Good news. I have not, and will not buy one (cable or adapter) from Apple (unless mine somehow breaks). I'm not willing to gamble on this one, but this means others will be available soon. C'mon Monoprice...

eBay adaptors are still cheaper. They should begin shipping any time now.

I just hope that once official third party products that are blessed by Apple are released, we'll actually be able to tell those from the unblessed knock-offs. However, I would guess they'll copy the same certification stamp on these knock-offs (once that stamp is actually out in the wild) so you won't really know for sure which ones are and are not blessed, which sucks. Hopefully there will be a list on Apple's website listing those that have been approved in the future.

It would have been really nice if Apple had gotten all this certification out of the way for third parties before the release of products with the Lightning connector, but ... oh well.

Great, now where is the Underbolt to USB 3.0 cable?

IdiddidI said:

It astounds me how many people refuse to believe there is an amazing amount of technology in these cables (a D/A converter, data transfer, charging capabilities, etc.).

I'm sure Apple is making some profit, but I don't think they're trying to rake their customers over the coals on this one.

It is no way comparable to Monster charging $150 for HDMI cables which perform exactly as well as your Monoprice HDMI cable for 5% of the cost.

Click to expand...

i'm sure the r&d behind this cable is pretty big, but i think the cost of the components and the assembly is hardly $5.

i think we both agree that apple is making a profit, but i disagree with the "some" part... i think they're making a healthy profit. i think they are justifying the cost to the cable by trying to pay for the r&d (when they should suck it up). i think they are raking their customers over the coals.

the transition over to this cable would have been a lost less aggravating if the cable was $10 and the adapter was $5.

ncaissie said:

Do you guys know how hard it is to harness Lightning? Of course it’s expensive!

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LOL.

This is good news though... Cuz it means its only a matter of time before we see $3 dollar cables on sites like Monoprice.com

IdiddidI said:

It astounds me how many people refuse to believe there is an amazing amount of technology in these cables (a D/A converter, data transfer, charging capabilities, etc.).

I'm sure Apple is making some profit, but I don't think they're trying to rake their customers over the coals on this one.

It is no way comparable to Monster charging $150 for HDMI cables which perform exactly as well as your Monoprice HDMI cable for 5% of the cost.

Click to expand...

There is literally no benefit to the adapter over the old one other than size. So yes Apple is ripping off consumers. Further they keep it secret from 3rd parties putting a delay on 3rd party accessories and keep a lockdown on the adapter so they can profit off of conversion cables.

Gemütlichkeit said:

Real one's are $20? I thought they were $30

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Actually, the real one is $19, bought from Apple ($19.99 bought elsewhere). The $29 one is the cable *and* charger.

Contrary to what so many people claim, Apple doesn't actually over-charge for it's cables. They're priced right in line with every other name-brand. Heck, sometimes they're even lower, like the 6' HDMI cable you can get from them that is about $20 *less* expensive than other name-brand cables. (Still more expensive than from Monoprice or the like, but cheaper than say Radio Shack branded cables.)

alent1234 said:

$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

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Breaking your phone with digital stream of data? 5V short-circuit? It's not like plugging 4 Ohms speakers in a 8 Ohms tube amplifier.

If the 3rd-party Lightning doesn't work you'll simply stop using the cable...

ChrisA said:

The argument that the lightening was complex because of pin reassignment sounded good at first. But I bet the pins are "re-assigned" in the EXACT same way every time on plug in the phone. So if you use the cable unly 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.

I expect these to be even cheaper in a year or so

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Of *course* the pins will be assigned the same way each time you plug them into any given device (such as the sync/charge cable). I've got no idea what gave you any other idea.

On top of that, the pins *aren't* going to be reassigned in the *cable*. They're reassigned in the *phone*. The chip in cable's (or other device's) lightning connector is to allow the phone to identify what device it's just been connected to so that it knows *how* to assign the pins.

jshbckr said:

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?

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That wasn't my point.

All I was saying is, at the end of the day, the customer is spending 1/4 the cost of their iPhone for an HDMI adapter. Yes, the smartphones are subsidized, but they all have a flat data-fee; a Windows Phone user can get a HDMI adapter for less than 10% of the value of their smartphone.

$50 for an adapter (does not include the HDMI cable) is crappy.

IdiddidI said:

It astounds me how many people refuse to believe there is an amazing amount of technology in these cables (a D/A converter, data transfer, charging capabilities, etc.).

I'm sure Apple is making some profit, but I don't think they're trying to rake their customers over the coals on this one.

It is no way comparable to Monster charging $150 for HDMI cables which perform exactly as well as your Monoprice HDMI cable for 5% of the cost.

Click to expand...

While I made that comparison in jest, I definitely agree with this point.

golgo1313 said:

i think we both agree that apple is making a profit, but i disagree with the "some" part... i think they're making a healthy profit. i think they are justifying the cost to the cable by trying to pay for the r&d (when they should suck it up).

Click to expand...

You're kidding right? Of course they have to recoup the cost of their R&D. What are they going to pay their employees and keep the lights on? With volunteer work?

Suck it up? In case you missed it a corporation exist to make products people like so it can create profit. It's not a hand-out public service.

The level of professionalism is astounding.

Rocko1 said:

How old are you? This comment is just too ignorant to tear apart.

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My thoughts exactly!

Lord Appleseed said:

Great, now where is the Underbolt to USB 3.0 cable?

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Why exactly would you need one? New MBP's have USB 3.0 ports. Plus, those are two incompatible protocols if you mean for older Thunderbolt port equipped devices. You would need a special controller to convert between them. That would be something far more substantial and sophisticated that a couple of mini chips in a cable. There's alot more in play technologically than the of the plugs. That's why Belkin is making this thunderbolt dock. https://www.macrumors.com/2012/10/03/third-party-thunderbolt-docking-stations-remain-vaporware-as-shipping-dates-pushed-back/

Sure, thunderbolt can handle the bandwidth of USB 3.0 plus a ton of other stuff, but you need a lot more than a reconfigured pin layout and a few A/D chips to make the two compatible.

IdiddidI said:

It astounds me how many people refuse to believe there is an amazing amount of technology in these cables (a D/A converter, data transfer, charging capabilities, etc.).

I'm sure Apple is making some profit, but I don't think they're trying to rake their customers over the coals on this one.

It is no way comparable to Monster charging $150 for HDMI cables which perform exactly as well as your Monoprice HDMI cable for 5% of the cost.

Click to expand...

It astounds me that I need all those fancy, sophisticated electronics just to charge my phone.

I would guess that all most people really want is the spare charging capability, hence feeling ripped off.

golgo1313 said:

i'm sure the r&d behind this cable is pretty big, but i think the cost of the components and the assembly is hardly $5.

i think we both agree that apple is making a profit, but i disagree with the "some" part... i think they're making a healthy profit. i think they are justifying the cost to the cable by trying to pay for the r&d (when they should suck it up). i think they are raking their customers over the coals.

the transition over to this cable would have been a lost less aggravating if the cable was $10 and the adapter was $5.

Click to expand...

Estimates done shortly after the first cable tear-down put the wholesale price of Apple's cable at roughly $8 (probably about $3 to build). Based on 'typical' cable mark-up in most retail establishments, that would price Apple's cable somewhere in the $50 range. (Yes, cable mark-ups at retail are usually that extreme. That $6 USB->USB micro cable, probably *did* cost about $.15 to build.)

Apple most certainly *isn't* in the business of huge mark-ups for it's cables if you can get an $8 wholesale cable from them for $19.

fanfong said:

You're kidding right? Of course they have to recoup the cost of their R&D. What are they going to pay their employees and keep the lights on? With volunteer work?

Suck it up? In case you missed it a corporation exist to make products people like so it can create profit. It's not a hand-out public service.

Click to expand...

THANK YOU! Someone on here has some common sense. When have people gotten so entitled that they expect a company, whose sole purpose is to make money, to just give stuff away. On top of the fact that nobody seems to be complaining about the cost of the devices themselves. You shell out between $400-$800 for a mobile device and/or $2000 on on a computer, and your gonna claim price gouging on the accessories. We're getting gouged left and right on anything we buy! R&D and manufacturing are a significant undisclosed cost, as is the fact they now provide a FREE iCloud service in the form of multiple large scale data centers. Apple has an ever expanding staff and campus. They need to pay for a variety of regulatory fees, taxes and whatnot. Not to mention the potential losses fighting legal battles and stopping RAMPANT counterfeiting. There is a great deal beyond the market price of the parts used to make an item that dictates a retail price, Apple or any company for that matter doesn't owe us a damn thing beyond what is said in a Terms of Service or a warranty agreement when we buy of use a product. If you don't like the pricing of a product, you simply don't buy it. In the case of these cables and adapters, if you don't like it, why did you buy the main device. Apple didn't exactly blindside anyone. They introduced them alongside the new iPhone, and most of you complained while handing them a credit card.

Saw them in a small phone store here in Shanghai, came home to check online and they are surely popping up on two websites I frequent for parts.
Online Chinese websites selling for US$7/cable
This small phone store is selling them for US$15.

Sure hope the price drops to $2/3 per cable so I can have a spare in the office home and travel bag.

tee hee!

I'll wait until they're $1.00 on ebay and amazon.

devsfan1830 said:

Why exactly would you need one? New MBP's have USB 3.0 ports. Plus, those are two incompatible protocols if you mean for older Thunderbolt port equipped devices. You would need a special controller to convert between them. That would be something far more substantial and sophisticated that a couple of mini chips in a cable. There's alot more in play technologically than the of the plugs. That's why Belkin is making this thunderbolt dock. https://www.macrumors.com/2012/10/03/third-party-thunderbolt-docking-stations-remain-vaporware-as-shipping-dates-pushed-back/

Sure, thunderbolt can handle the bandwidth of USB 3.0 plus a ton of other stuff, but you need a lot more than a reconfigured pin layout and a few A/D chips to make the two compatible.

Click to expand...

Sure, you also need a PCI-e -> USB controller chip. I'm absolutely dumb-founded that the Thunderbolt docks aren't on the market yet. They should have been simple to do, given the companies' experiences with PCI-e expansion cards.