Apple Reverses Course on 30-Pin and Lightning Connector Guidelines

[MacRumors]

A day after a Kickstarter project was killed because of restrictions on Apple's MFi program that prevented Lightning and 30-Pin connectors from appearing on the same device, Apple has changed its guidelines to allow third-party devices to have 30-pin and Lightning chargers on the same accessory, reports CNET.

"Our technical specifications provide clear guidelines for developing accessories and they are available to MFi licensees for free," Apple spokesman Tom Neumayr told CNET. "We support accessories that integrate USB and Lightning connectors, but there were technical issues that prevented accessories from integrating 30-pin and Lightning connectors so our guidelines did not allow this."

The company added that the guidelines have since been updated to allow accessories to work with both types of connectors to charge devices.

A number of MacRumors commenters felt Apple's decision to prevent the Kickstarter project from moving forward was a poor one, both for consumers, and for the company behind the project.

There is no word from Edison Junior on whether the company will move forward with the POP portable power station now that Apple has reversed course.

Article Link: Apple Reverses Course on 30-Pin and Lightning Connector Guidelines

[pubwvj]

Yeah!

[iMikeT]

Nice that Apple can see the bigger picture on this one.

Two ports on the same device hmmm.... Could Apple be a little port-curious?

[Awjvail]

"A technical issue" stopped them from allowing them on the same accessory?

Oh, so they fixed that "technical issue" overnight, then?

[rmwebs]

Originally Posted by Awjvail

"A technical issue" stopped them from allowing them on the same accessory?

Oh, so they fixed that "technical issue" overnight, then?

AKA "We didnt want to allow it as we wanted to make more money from accessory makers....but this is bad publicity, and we've had enough of that recently....so lets cave and come up with an excuse".

[jessica.]

Originally Posted by rmwebs

AKA "We didnt want to allow it as we wanted to make more money from accessory makers....but this is bad publicity, and we've had enough of that recently....so lets cave and come up with an excuse".

Exactly.

On the other hand, I would love to see whether this project actually starts up again. My guess, the creator will walk away like a martyr claiming there was no way he could undo the hurt Apple caused. /emo

[CWallace]

Originally Posted by jessica.

My guess, the creator will walk away like a martyr claiming there was no way he could undo the hurt Apple caused. /emo

Which likely then would raise questions as to whether the real reason is with the product and they were just using Apple as a cover.

[jessica.]

Originally Posted by CWallace

Which likely then would raise questions as to whether the real reason is with the product and they were just using Apple as a cover.

My initial thought was screw Apple. Then as I started reading online about it and seeing other reactions I started to think that maybe Apple's resistance was a small blessing to them.

[charlieegan3]

While I don't tend to like many 3rd accessories I hate the Idea that apple has this much control over them.

[jm001]

Well in Apple's defense it is their design and property so they have every right to control access to it. Is it good business sense to protect it to the degree Apple does? it can be in some instances but cmon for companies who are going to promote your technology/product Apple should keep the gates open.

[SalsaShark]

Keep in mind that if you're offering connectivity with data transfer, there may actually be technical difficulties involved. Don't know for sure, of course, but it's possible.

Since all this thing is doing is charging, that potential hurdle doesn't exist.

[moose.boy]

*sigh*
The technical limitation relates to syncing. The guidelines have been changed to allow for *charging*, not syncing.

[ritmomundo]

Well, the company should move ahead with the project now. The reversal and the resulting news articles on media/tech sites (like MR) are basically free advertising for a product that most people hadnt heard about anyway. They probably couldn't have wished for more exposure or free publicity at this point.

[SteveW928]

The project wasn't killed by Apple's guidelines... it was killed by bad planning, as anyone with an ounce of investigation would have known this previously and not counted on approval. Or, (which I'd guess is the case) this was just grandstanding to get publicity and hopefully influence Apple. If the latter worked, then great.

Apple needs to do some serious work on Thunderbolt adoption, as the low quantity devices using it and their extreme cost are simply ridiculous. And, this is exactly one place Apple shouldn't be trying to hold their profit margins. Heck, sacrifice if you need to in order to get this connector in the mainstream. The way it is currently headed, it's going to turn out like FW 800 or worse.

[foobarbaz]

Wait, what??
An Apple spokesperson contacted the media to comment and then they revert their decision?

Strange things are going on in Cupertino. Bizarro-Apple?

[Don't panic]

aside from the decision (now rescinded by apple) to not alow the hybrid charger, wouldn't it be much better from everyone if there was a disconnect between the power charger and the device.
by this i mean that you should be able to have a different combination of cables depending on the need.

let's say this has 8 cables out, 4 miniUSB, 2 30 pins and 2 lightning.
a costumer with 3 old iDevices that use 30 pins would not want it, nor a costumer with 3 new devices. basically for most people you just always have some of the cable s that are useless, and maybe not have some that you need.

just have the 8 USB sockets, and then people can plug in the cable that came with the device and use one charger with many devices 9or you can have optional cables of the make you like included as optional when purchasing.

the other question I have is how does it deal with different power requirements? do the devices self-adjust and only draw what's needed? can you fry one device?

[petsounds]

Originally Posted by jessica.

On the other hand, I would love to see whether this project actually starts up again. My guess, the creator will walk away like a martyr claiming there was no way he could undo the hurt Apple caused. /emo

Possibly. After all, he founded the Kickstarter competitor that he was going to refund all the money from. It's possible this whole thing was a publicity stunt, specifically designing a product that he knew would be rejected by Apple, which he could then shoutout his own company in which refunding is a differentiator from Kickstarter.

Of course, that's the cynical view. In any case, this product looks like some tacky piece of junk from a Sharper Image catalog.

[rorschach]

Originally Posted by rmwebs

AKA "We didnt want to allow it as we wanted to make more money from accessory makers....but this is bad publicity, and we've had enough of that recently....so lets cave and come up with an excuse".

Heh. Yep. That right there is pretty much the reason any company reverses course on anything.

[SnowLeopard OSX]

This will benefit consumers greatly, IMHO.

[nagromme]

Sounds like a rule that had a genuine useful reason behind it. Now made better with an exception for charging. Did Apple think of every possible accessory idea when they wrote the rules? No. Do they have to jump instantly when some guy with an ideas says “jump”? No. But they did jump, and it doesn’t sound like it took all that long to happen. Good.

But Apple is Always Evil. Remember, boys and girls

Originally Posted by rmwebs

AKA "We didnt want to allow it as we wanted to make more money from accessory makers....but this is bad publicity, and we've had enough of that recently....so lets cave and come up with an excuse".

That makes no sense. How does Apple make more money from accessory makers by NOT allowing them to make accessories? Apple loves selling third-party products, and gives out a logo to promote them—IF you follow guidelines for functionality, quality, and apparently worker conditions too.

What you say makes sense only if Apple said “you CAN combine the two connectors, if you pay a fee.” That’s not the case.

[HadItWithWindow]

It is death to me.

I have an iPhone5 that cannot connect to anything for charging except the charger provided. When in my auto it is useless if the battery is dead.

I also bought the new iPad when they came out with iPhone5 so that is a third connector that serves no purpose for me other than to carry around a bunch of cables to charge the iPhone5, new iPad and old iPad.

I'm all for progress and I try to be patient but why couldn't they have come up with some type of adapters the day they intro new connectors?

[KylePowers]

Originally Posted by HadItWithWindow

It is death to me.

I have an iPhone5 that cannot connect to anything for charging except the charger provided. When in my auto it is useless if the battery is dead.

I also bought the new iPad when they came out with iPhone5 so that is a third connector that serves no purpose for me other than to carry around a bunch of cables to charge the iPhone5, new iPad and old iPad.

I'm all for progress and I try to be patient but why couldn't they have come up with some type of adapters the day they intro new connectors?

There are plenty of adapters made by Apple and not made Apple that will easily charge and sync your Lightning devices. Knockoff brands are super cheap on Amazon.

[Mackan]

Originally Posted by rmwebs

AKA "We didnt want to allow it as we wanted to make more money from accessory makers....but this is bad publicity, and we've had enough of that recently....so lets cave and come up with an excuse".

Pretty much. It's a ridiculous world we live in.

[Westacular]

Originally Posted by SteveW928

Apple needs to do some serious work on Thunderbolt adoption, as the low quantity devices using it and their extreme cost are simply ridiculous. And, this is exactly one place Apple shouldn't be trying to hold their profit margins. Heck, sacrifice if you need to in order to get this connector in the mainstream. The way it is currently headed, it's going to turn out like FW 800 or worse.

Thunderbolt != Lightning. Discussion of Thunderbolt has no relevance here.

(And if Apple could make Thunderbolt cheaper, they would. It's really up to Intel, and AFAICT products are expensive because, simply put, the chips and cables needed for Thunderbolt are still expensive to manufacture.)

[dfs]

So "technical issues" turn out to be nothing more than marketing issues. No surprise there. That's usually Apple's move when its in a monopolistic mood. Thankfullf, it rarely is able to get away with this sort of tactic for very long. There's always some free market and consumer-friendly developer who can figure out an end run around the restrictive policy of the moment. If Apple's senior management could gain some inkling of how much this sort of thing damages the company's credibility even in the eyes of its most loyal customers, the might re-think their policies.