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macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
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30,363



With shipping estimates for new pre-orders of the iPhone 5 through Apple's online store slipping to two weeks just an hour after pre-orders began earlier today, customers are also snapping up Apple's supplies of Lightning adapters and cables.

Alongside the iPhone 5 announcement on Wednesday, Apple introduced a pair of adapters to allow users to continue using older cables and accessories based on the long-standing 30-pin dock standard: a $29 direct plug adapter and a $39 short-cable adapter.

lightning_adapters_cable_shipping.jpg



Availability of the new adapters has already begun to slip significantly, with Apple now quoting shipping estimates of "October" for new orders through its online store. The company's $19 Lightning to USB cable, which comes standard with Apple's latest devices but which should be popular as a standalone purchase with customers wanting to set up multiple charging locations, has also slipped from 1-3 business days to 2-3 weeks.

Apple has also acknowledged that it will be launching HDMI and VGA cables for Lightning-equipped devices, but the company has not yet made them available for order.

Update: A number of readers have noted that the adapters have been listed as shipping in October since they first showed up in Apple's online store on Wednesday. Shipping estimates on the USB cable have, however, indeed slipped.

Article Link: Availability of Apple's Lightning Adapters and Cables Slipping [Updated]
 

greytmom

macrumors 68040
Jun 23, 2010
3,566
1,002
I wonder what the in-store supplies will look like. I always like to have an extra USB cable at work so I can charge via the computer if needed.
 

daneoni

macrumors G4
Mar 24, 2006
11,575
1,131
Should be including these for free...especially the adapter. Why can't they just be nice to their customers once a while.

I read an estimate that these things alone will fetch Apple north of $100m in profit.
 

nyctravis

macrumors 6502
Jun 12, 2007
279
143
San Francisco, CA
It's insulting how much they are charging for these things. I wish one of the tear down sites would see what the actual cost is to make these, I bet it's very little.
 

diamondsw

macrumors member
Oct 25, 2005
50
154
They were never available immediately, even after the keynote it said October.

This. The adapters were never going to ship alongside the iPhone. I'm just going to wait until I can walk into a store and pick one up.
 

zorinlynx

macrumors G3
May 31, 2007
8,144
17,475
Florida, USA
These are going to be in high demand for a while. Think about it; EVERYONE who's been an Apple fan for a few years has at least 2-3 dock cables laying around. No one buying a new iPhone wants to be inconvenienced and is going to want their charging locations to stick around, so they'll be ordering a few cables.

I'm not going to bother, and just keep the one that comes with my phone on me until the crazy demand abates. It's not like it's big and heavy and bulky.

To those buying extra cables and adapters, don't leave them in your car. If they're this hard to find, people might be willing to break into cars to steal them!
 

bacaramac

macrumors 65816
Dec 29, 2007
1,424
100
Yeah, I was going to order an extra cable alongside iPhone, but it said October and I didn't want anything to delay delivery of iPhone so I waited. Hoping the audio and charging work with my car's USB interface for iPod.
 

thatisme

macrumors 6502
Mar 23, 2010
485
106
United States
I believe they should have included (1) of the adapters with each of the new phones. I know they will make more by selling them, but there is a certain amount of good will that they would have generated and they could have lessened the harsh feelings people have toward the overpriced cables.

It'll be interesting to see if they do a bit of price adjusting later on, or if they will continue to sell enough of these at the current price points. And, I wonder how quickly the 3rd party guys like monoprice will make Lightning cables and adapters available.
 

wkadamsjr

macrumors 6502
Jun 29, 2010
282
62
Should be including these for free...especially the adapter. Why can't they just be nice to their customers once a while.

I read an estimate that these things alone will fetch Apple north of $100m in profit.

I, for one, wouldn't need one. And I can imagine there are many, many more like myself.
 

BoxerGT2.5

macrumors 68020
Jun 4, 2008
2,104
14,136
The adapter said October since the 12th, the cable were shipping in 1-3 days. A snagged 2 of the cables on the 12th.
 

AppleFan360

macrumors 68020
Jan 26, 2008
2,211
715
Saw this coming a mile away. Ordered two USB cords earlier this week. They are shipping today and I should have them by the 21st.
 

Chupa Chupa

macrumors G5
Jul 16, 2002
14,835
7,396
I found it strange that they don't have a iPhone 5 dock available.

It's strange they none of these accessories are available. I can understand phone shortages b/c they are made of sophisticated parts that take time to fabricate. But these cables and adapters are fairly basic to manufacture. There is no reason not to have these available in quantity. Waiting weeks is absurd.
 

iReality85

macrumors 65816
Apr 29, 2008
1,107
2,380
Upstate NY
I think this is completely unreasonable. $29 for a compact adapter, and $39 for the wired version? I understand that Apple wanted to update the ten year old connector, but to not even include a compact adapter along with the iPhone 5? This is borderline gouging, and to make it worse its forced gouging. There's going to be a lot of unhappy customers. Keep in mind- most Apple users aren't geeks; they don't post on these forums and don't watch the events. They are literally going to buy the iPhone 5, open it, and go, "it has a new connector? I can't plug it into all my accessories? I can't use my sound dock anymore at work? Not in my car?" The right thing for Apple to do would be to include a compact adapter with the iPhone 5 (at the very least, or even just for the first few months). I mean, it's bad enough that Lightning doesn't support video-out, or even guaranteed to work with some sound docks, so customers will need an adapter for that too.
 

Icedog

macrumors member
Nov 7, 2003
82
0
I believe they should have included (1) of the adapters with each of the new phones. I know they will make more by selling them, but there is a certain amount of good will that they would have generated and they could have lessened the harsh feelings people have toward the overpriced cables.

It'll be interesting to see if they do a bit of price adjusting later on, or if they will continue to sell enough of these at the current price points. And, I wonder how quickly the 3rd party guys like monoprice will make Lightning cables and adapters available.

There's a thread in the iPhone sections that shows that Apple is including one adapter w/ purchase of the iPhone 5 to folks outside the United States. I didn't see this when I purchased earlier this morning, but I used the iOS app.

https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/15668307/
 
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