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should I be annoyed at $27 for a lightning cable

inscrewtable

inscrewtable

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Oct 9, 2010
1,656
402
Yeah yeah I know the D and R and the special electronics and so on. But my ipod lightning cable has split and is cactus, even though it is a stay at home charger. Fortunately I had already bough three replacement ones for easier charging of guest devices and they cost me $1 including delivery. Mind you out of 4 that I bought one was not accepted by the ipod but the other three are golden.

I do not care what anyone says, but $10 would already be excessive imho.
 
I'm annoyed, but if you buy a Apple product, it comes with the territory. That's just how I see it. Of course you can just choose not to buy Apple products.
 
I would be a little miffed yes. I assume you are just talking about the cable and not the plug adapter too?

You pay $27.00 for the cable which is £16.16p in our money.

We pay £15.00 direct from Apple.

Then again its not a huge difference but I would have thought it would be a lot cheaper in the US.
 
The cost of not using standardized systems, means less production of parts, higher costs, etc. Of course, I'm sure the cable only costs Apple about a dollar and the rest is profit, but Apple overcharges for everything. I mean, $100 to add 16gb of storage onto a phone? Something that costs Apple around $4. It's unbelievable what Apple gets away with, but hey, people buy their stuff, so they can do as they please.
 
It is a rip off. Simple & plain.

Like how Monster charged $300 for an HDMI cable.
 
@ sure, but that is beside the point. I don't mind paying a premium for a premium product but a 2700% mark up is not really fair.

@I'm in Australia.

@Lloydbm41 yes Apple overcharges for everything, that is a given, but there is overcharging and their is extortion and I think that 2700% on a tiny tiny yet very ordinarily made product of wrong. If the Apple cable were substantially better, such that it would not split and wear out at the same rate as cheap cables then fair enough. I'm sure apple could improve their cable to the extent that it lasts the life of the product in normal use at say triple their production costs. It may then cost them $3 instead of $1 to manufacture, then they could be justified in charging $27 AUD.

The mac mini chassis removal tool, which is a piece of bent wire is necessary for removing the logic board, Apple charge something like $40 for it, but that's OK because it's a specialised piece of equipment. I'm not arguing against excessive prices in general, I'm specifically pointing out that the overly excessive to the point of extortionate price of a lightning cable that is probably the most common spare part that would be required in numerous quantities by most people, is wrong.
 
inscrewtable said:
Yeah yeah I know the D and R and the special electronics and so on. But my ipod lightning cable has split and is cactus, even though it is a stay at home charger. Fortunately I had already bough three replacement ones for easier charging of guest devices and they cost me $1 including delivery. Mind you out of 4 that I bought one was not accepted by the ipod but the other three are golden.

I do not care what anyone says, but $10 would already be excessive imho.
Click to expand...

You could buy Apple OEM lightening cables from Amazon for $17. You can also get 3rd party ones at Amazon or BestBuy for $12-$15.
 
Fat profits off high priced products are the very reason Apple has so much cash. It's also why third party accessories are plentiful. Apples core business plan of proprietary items has created a veritable cash cow. There's no point in even paying attention to price, just cough up the cash. That's why it's called jailbreak, Apple takes pride in locking customers into their ecosystem.
 
Jessica Lares said:
My lightning cable has lasted me two years so far and has only begun to fall apart.

I think the better thing to do is just invest into a dock.
Click to expand...
I hope Apple will add Qi or some other wireless charging. Being able to just set my Nexus and Lumia phones onto the Tylt Vu is just so simple. No trying to find cords in the dark. No accidentally pulling the phone of the desk while still attached to a cord. Just so convenient and easy, plus saves on the wear and tear.
 
Lloydbm41 said:
I hope Apple will add Qi or some other wireless charging. Being able to just set my Nexus and Lumia phones onto the Tylt Vu is just so simple. No trying to find cords in the dark. No accidentally pulling the phone of the desk while still attached to a cord. Just so convenient and easy, plus saves on the wear and tear.
Click to expand...

Now you got me thinking back to the days of the Palm Pre. Palm was ahead of its time with that OS and charger. So sad they didn't last.
 
Lloydbm41 said:
I hope Apple will add Qi or some other wireless charging. Being able to just set my Nexus and Lumia phones onto the Tylt Vu is just so simple. No trying to find cords in the dark. No accidentally pulling the phone of the desk while still attached to a cord. Just so convenient and easy, plus saves on the wear and tear.
Click to expand...

I'd still find a way to screw it up. Heh. I always hurt myself... Opening doors. :eek:

I'd rather a solar universal charger.
 
Not really, all manufacturers charge a lot for cables, Samsung charges $20 for their micro USB cable:
http://www.samsung.com/us/mobile/cell-phones-accessories/APCBU10BBEBSTD

And charges $40 for this charger and cable that's USB 3.0:
http://www.samsung.com/us/mobile/cell-phones-accessories/EP-TA10JWEQSTA
 
Lloydbm41 said:
I hope Apple will add Qi or some other wireless charging. Being able to just set my Nexus and Lumia phones onto the Tylt Vu is just so simple. No trying to find cords in the dark. No accidentally pulling the phone of the desk while still attached to a cord. Just so convenient and easy, plus saves on the wear and tear.
Click to expand...

They probably will... but it will be called iCharge and will only work with iPhones.... but it will look kewl and only cost $200 per pad....:p
 
I've had to replace 3 lightning cables over the past 2 years since it was introduced.

Fortunately Apple has replaced all cables for free. No questions asked.
 
This is why I love micro USB. Yes it's not as technologically advanced as the lightening cable but I can sacrifice that for the price. I've got a ton of microusb chargers from previous phones (including dumb phones).

That said, you can find much cheaper OEM deals on ebay.
 
Nabooly said:
This is why I love micro USB. Yes it's not as technologically advanced as the lightening cable but I can sacrifice that for the price. I've got a ton of microusb chargers from previous phones (including dumb phones).

That said, you can find much cheaper OEM deals on ebay.
Click to expand...

Allegedly slower charge time though :/
 
sviato said:
Allegedly slower charge time though :/
Click to expand...

Charge time is dependent upon the amount of amperage the circuit in the phone will allow the battery to accept and the amount of amperage the plug pushes to the phone. If a plug is only rated for .5amps, an iPhone with its lightning cable will charge slower than a USB cable drawing from a 2.1amp plug on an Android, assuming the phone allows for charging at 1, 1.2, 1.5 or 2 amps.
 
The Amazon Basics lightning cable is really good quality and if I remember correctly runs about $10 (still excessive IMO but it is better quality and 1/2 the price).

Only thing is, I have to remove my case to plug it in.
 
Why not just buy an apple cable? Best buy sells them for $18.99. I've bought aftermarket ones and the held up no better. In fact, Have seen problems arise with name brand cables where the wire was smaller gauge causing streaming skips. I have to replace the apple one every six months. My last one was a rocketfish and it lasted 2 months. It is a wearable item.
 
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