Amazon and Monoprice Offering Certified, Low Cost Lightning-to-USB Cables

[MacRumors]

Both Monoprice and Amazon are now offering low cost Lightning cables, priced at $11.77 and $14.99, respectively, for a standard 3-foot cable.

That's a significant savings over Apple's official Lightning cables that are sold online and at retail stores for $19.99.

Monoprice is known for offering high quality generic cables at a deep discount. In addition to the standard 3ft cable, Monoprice is also selling a 6ft cable for $12.56 and a Slimfit cable for $12.73. The cables are all MFi certified Lightning to USB charge/sync cables, made to work with the iPad, iPhone, and iPod. The Slimfit cable from Monoprice is set to ship out in the beginning of March, with the other two cables following later in the month.

Amazon is only offering a 3ft MFi Certified cable at this time, but it is available to ship immediately.

While there are cheaper lightning cables available, the offerings from Amazon and Monoprice are MFi (Made for iPad/iPhone/iPod) Certified, which means they have been approved by Apple. Other low cost Lighting cable options are unofficial, which has introduced concerns about quality and compatibility.

Apple has been maintaining strict control over the Lightning connector and accessories that utilize the technology, insisting that Lightning-related accessories are manufactured in Apple-approved facilities. As a result, the introduction of lower-cost licensed Lightning cables has been slow.

Article Link: Amazon and Monoprice Offering Certified, Low Cost Lightning-to-USB Cables

[LimeiBook86]

Awesome news! Of course I just purchased a knock-off adapter, but these will be of a much better quality. I love Monoprice's cables I'll just wait for the exact measurements of the Monoprice cable, hopefully it will work with the iPhone 5 case I got from them as well.

[JarScott]

Isn't this something Apple would want to stop from happening? Don't they WANT people to pay £25 for an official cable?

[Inakto]

I bought $2.50 lightning cables from dealextreme and they work just as well as the originals

[dkersten]

Well its about time. Just goes to show the ridiculous profit margins Apple still makes on the new cables

[afawcett]

I know people have been getting cheaper cables from various venders, but I've heard many complaints that these cables will charge but not sync. Hopefully these cables will have better quality control.

[jca24]

Originally Posted by Inakto

I bought $2.50 lightning cables from dealextreme and they work just as well as the originals

Most likely not for long. The cheap chi-com crap will burn you!

[japanime]

Originally Posted by jca24

Most likely not for long. The cheap chi-com crap will burn you!

You really don't believe the most of the cheap knockoffs aren't coming out of the back door of the same factory that makes the officially branded stuff? In other words, the same exact cable, minus the logo?

[mrhick01]

The market speaks.

Two companies with a penchant for quality lower-priced products have produced some.

Good.

[Inakto]

Originally Posted by jca24

Most likely not for long. The cheap chi-com crap will burn you!

You're welcome to your opinion and empty wallet.

[balamw]

Originally Posted by JarScott

Isn't this something Apple would want to stop from happening? Don't they WANT people to pay £25 for an official cable?

Since these are certified cables, they probably still make money on them.

B

[Solomani]

The Monoprice "slimfit" Lightning cable.... me wants!!!

Finally, someone put some thought into producing a cable. In this case, it means the cable can be easily connected to the iOS device without having to remove it from a case.

[nutmac]

Originally Posted by dkersten

Well its about time. Just goes to show the ridiculous profit margins Apple still makes on the new cables

I can pickup Apple's official cable from any Apple Store at $17.50 with employee purchase plan (available to employees of many large companies). So for me personally, saving few bucks by choosing Monoprice ($14.57 with shipping) or Amazon ($14.99) isn't worth the trouble.

Even at full $19, we are talking about just $4 more per cable.

[oneMadRssn]

Originally Posted by japanime

You really don't believe the most of the cheap knockoffs aren't coming out of the back door of the same factory that makes the officially branded stuff? In other words, the same exact cable, minus the logo?

Have you actually compared the dealextreme/dailysteals cables to the real ones? They aren't similar at all. If they really are coming out of the same factory but through a different door, then I would expect them to be at least of similar construction. They are quite different, and therefore I suspect the cheap ones are inferior enough for the risk to be not worthwhile, in my opinion.

[Casiotone]

Originally Posted by JarScott

Isn't this something Apple would want to stop from happening? Don't they WANT people to pay £25 for an official cable?

I would guess that Apple knows that some people will look for and find cheap cables anyway, certified or not.

By certifying them for the most popular cheap brands, they still make money and can try to insure that they work properly so that they don't ruin the experience of iDevice users.

[rmwebs]

Originally Posted by jca24

Most likely not for long. The cheap chi-com crap will burn you!

Been using my ~£2.00 one for 3 months now. I have one in the car and one in the kitchen for charging - both work fine. You'd have a hard time telling them appart from the 'official' ones.

[troop231]

Still enjoying my own DIY "made" 6 foot cables

[mscann]

Why is it so hard to make the connector head the same size as the apple ones? None of these cables work on closed bottom cases

[cameronjpu]

Originally Posted by japanime

You really don't believe the most of the cheap knockoffs aren't coming out of the back door of the same factory that makes the officially branded stuff? In other words, the same exact cable, minus the logo?

That'd be nice. I bought 10 when I thought I saw a set that was highly rated on Amazon. 6 weeks later 3 have failed. 7 to go! I bought so many with a plan to provide them to my clients with new iPhones (I do computer repair/setup, etc) but clearly I can't give these things to my clients even for free. I got a refund of $12 from the seller (total cost was $45). The generics are not the same as the originals. Unfortunately that's because Apple went to such great lengths to make them hard to copy.

[santaliqueur]

Originally Posted by Inakto

You're welcome to your opinion and empty wallet.

A $20 cable will somehow empty your wallet out? Get a job.

[Noit21]

just got the Amazon one yesterday in the mail... works like a charm... charge and sync...

[ShinySteelRobot]

Not a fan of black cables anymore. Gives me scary flashbacks to when I had to use a Dell at work.

[tann]

Are these available in the UK yet?

[joeshmo2010]

If the cables were like 9.99, then I'd say it's worth it, but for only a few bucks less, to me the regular cables seem just fine. But again, that's just me

[noiseordinance]

Damn, at first I read this as a thunderbolt to USB cable. I was gonna say, I can finally make use of these worthless thunderbolt ports on my rMBP at last!