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Azzin

macrumors 603
Jun 23, 2010
5,425
3,723
London, England.
It doesn't have anything to do with that. If indeed the majority of users would have problems with fraying there would already be a class action lawsuit in planning. In addition peope are more likely to complain about problems and do this on the internet than to sing praise of standard items working as advertised. NATURALLY you are more likely to read about problems with the cable than about people having no issues with it.

If you would do a global poll of people having fraying problems than you would find that only a very tiny percentage of all lightning cable users has this problem.

Didn't you know?

Lightning cables "just shred" on people...
 

crashoverride77

macrumors 65816
Jan 27, 2014
1,234
213
How is it that I have my first lightning cable from 2 years ago still in pristine condition? Oh, because I don't just yank the cord itself and actually grab the white plug end to pull it out from the device.

Is it that hard to ask people to be just a tad more mindful of their belongings? Especially if you already KNOW the cable will fray easily, that's even more of a reason to avoid abusing it. Instead, people just have this self centered attitude of "I'm going to keep doing it anyway because how dare Apple not create cables that can be folded and yanked and not tear"

I was thinking the same however it is not always the case. It's not necessarily about the cable ripping but bending and eventually breaking around the lightning end. I have 2 cables, 1 in the bedroom and it looks brand new. The other is in the living room under the sofa and used constantly by me and friends. Don't ask how bad the cable looks after a few months.
Same with the EarPods I never got the cable to rip but after months of use the end bit (u plug in the phone) is so twisted/bend that sound cuts off if the cable is not twisted in a specific way.
 

tbrinkma

macrumors 68000
Apr 24, 2006
1,651
93
let's hope it doesn't cost 29.99. My 4th gen iPad lightning cable will probably die on me soon (keeping getting unauthorised accessory warning even though it's a genuine cable) so this will be a good buy :D

Why would it cost $29.99? Apple's iPod/iPhone cables have cost $19.00 for as long as I can remember.
 

jclardy

macrumors 601
Oct 6, 2008
4,138
4,318
What is so wrong with that statement? Car manufactures don't like constant change! Everyone knows the technology in cars is usually two years behind the times. So it's a killer to find a car with a current lighting cable. Plus all those cars with standard USB ports are hit & miss and now Apple has a new USB connection.

----------



Yea but in car they have to use STANDARD USB ports in their cars. This new lighting cable will mean that one with have to bring their own cable. Plus all those speaker docks will now be obsolete again.

This is the exact same connection...the only difference is you can plug it in upside down. You don't have to change the USB port on your computer, why would it need to change in the car?

The point of lightning is that its connection can be defined in software - meaning that it can support nearly any protocol of any adapter that is built without changing anything in the phone.
 

peterdevries

macrumors 68040
Feb 22, 2008
3,146
1,135
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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marzer

macrumors 65816
Nov 14, 2009
1,396
120
Colorado
For all the dismay and confusion demonstrated in responses to this story, all I can say is...WITCHCRAFT!! Burn them at the stake! Tripplite, Apple, etc., burn them all! It's the devils work! :D

No really. This is such an utterly simple mechanical concept, yet you'd think someone just demonstrated teleportation.
 

peterdevries

macrumors 68040
Feb 22, 2008
3,146
1,135
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Didn't you know?

Lightning cables "just shred" on people...

Not denying that fraying happens but apparently logical thinking is a stretch for some people / children on this board.

If it is so commonplace than why doesn't it happen to me? I have about 6 or 7 cables flying around of which two in my heavily used workbag. My oldest cable doesn't show the slightest beginning of fraying.
 

Azzin

macrumors 603
Jun 23, 2010
5,425
3,723
London, England.
Not denying that fraying happens but apparently logical thinking is a stretch for some people / children on this board.

If it is so commonplace than why doesn't it happen to me? I have about 6 or 7 cables flying around of which two in my heavily used workbag. My oldest cable doesn't show the slightest beginning of fraying.

But...but...they "just shred".

All of them in the world, are just prone to spontaneous shredding! :D
 

robjulo

Suspended
Jul 16, 2010
1,623
3,159
I've replaced three that see moderate to heavy use, but not abuse. They were replaced for free at the apple store due to the number of issues the store has seen. Any other questions?

I honestly can't remember the last time any cable associated with any of my Apple devices failed. Any chance you're just very rough on them?

No, I know... it has to be Apple's fault. :rolleyes:
 

kmichalec

macrumors 6502a
Aug 14, 2010
878
284
Seriously? Why is this such a big deal? Are people that ******* that they can't figure out if the cable doesn't go in one way, they flip it over and it goes in the other, which takes a whole 1 second longer to do? Or if there's a logo on one side, and not the other, and it goes in one time with the logo side up, then that's the way it goes in every other time after that? So Apple may make a USB cable that's reversible (like other companies that have already made them, and have patents on them). Big flippin' deal!?

Are people that easily impressed with something so simple, just cause Apple is the one mass using it before most others? My god, some of you people are the equivalent of cats chasing a laser pointer.

And no, I'm not an Apple hater. I own 8 different Apple devices and 0 Android devices. Just tired of the mindless Apple zealots giving us regular Apple users with a shred of common sense and reasonable expectations a bad name.

The only reasonable response to this story should have been someone posting:

"Oh, that's nice. What else, Apple?"
 
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mattster16

macrumors 6502a
Apr 18, 2004
743
489
You can download the USB spec, they have drawings with measurements, I just looked at them. In the Type "A" receptacle the tongue fills exactly 1/2 of it, the bottom edge, where the connectors are, lies exactly on the vertical centerline of the socket.

The board on the end of the plug can be between .38mm and .51mm thick and sits below the plug tongue when connected. So if the plug has a completely central tongue which is a full .51mm thick it would have to bend by 0.255 mm to slide underneath. That is around 2 degrees of bend, less if the plug tongue goes extra far into the plug and only even that if the socket were entirely rigid and kept the plug absolutely perpendicular. Mine (unscientifically) slop up and down a few degrees.

The socket tongue has a .38mm chamfer on it at a minimum angle of 28 degrees, the plug tongue also has a chamfer of the same angle, that's enough to guide one piece under the other.

I doubt it will be frictionless, but there's certainly enough room on the standard Type "A" socket as specified by USB to have a thin, central tongued reversible plug make contact with a small bend of the tongue.

Also worth pointing out is that any design which carries the USB mark must pass insertion, holding and removal force tests as well as contact resistance and capacitance tests to ensure the connection is good.

Figures 6-7 (page 95), 6-9 (page 99) USB revision 2.0 spec.

Thanks for that. I was just looking at the end of an existing lighting cord and wondering how it would work with a central, dual sided tongue. On the current cable the tongue takes up a less than half of the total socket. Obviously there are some tolerances for varying tongue thicknesses, etc. I would definitely think the new dual sided tongue would have to have some flex in it for this to work.
 

mazz0

macrumors 68040
Mar 23, 2011
3,117
3,564
Leeds, UK
I honestly can't remember the last time any cable associated with any of my Apple devices failed. Any chance you're just very rough on them?

No, I know... it has to be Apple's fault. :rolleyes:

It doesn't have anything to do with that. If indeed the majority of users would have problems with fraying there would already be a class action lawsuit in planning. In addition peope are more likely to complain about problems and do this on the internet than to sing praise of standard items working as advertised. NATURALLY you are more likely to read about problems with the cable than about people having no issues with it.

If you would do a global poll of people having fraying problems than you would find that only a very tiny percentage of all lightning cable users has this problem.

But...but...they "just shred".

All of them in the world, are just prone to spontaneous shredding! :D

It doesn't happen to you, therefore it doesn't happen? There's no class action lawsuite, therefore it doesn't happen? Yeah, good logic.

Some apple cables have very short life expectancies. I've had two the problems mentioned by people here - the outer layer of the cable splitting and tearing away near the plug and the sound cutting out in the Earpod cables. Neither of these are from rough treatment, they're from normal use, which includes coiling the cable up gently and putting it in a pocket. One pertinent point is this: not only can I honestly say this hasn't happened with other cables, from other companies, treated the same way, but it also hasn't happened with other Apple cables treated the same way. Some of their cables are clearly better manufactured than others. The fact that /you/ haven't had a problem proves nothing.
 

chrisbru

macrumors 6502a
May 8, 2008
809
169
Austin, TX
Apple are still missing that small detail that most of their users want, and it's very simple - just supply their products with longer cables. An extra 50cm will be fine thank you.

Or release them in multiple sizes. I don't want all that extra cord - the current size is perfect for my nightstand, desk, and car. More cord just means more tangles and cord to get in the way.
 

myrtlebee

macrumors 68030
Jul 9, 2011
2,677
2,242
Maryland
I doubt that's real. When Apple switched to the lightning connector they removed all gray symbols from the connector, which signaled to the user which part of the connector faces "up" when plugging in. In the video the USB symbol is still present only on one side, which implies to the user that the cable can only go in one way. If it were real, wouldn't there be no symbols or two symbols (one on each side)? Also, the person never showed inside the USB connector, so he could have simply removed the internals of the connector so that it would fit both ways in the USB port.
 

richardsonrs

macrumors regular
Jul 1, 2010
238
135
If it wasn't an issue

It doesn't have anything to do with that. If indeed the majority of users would have problems with fraying there would already be a class action lawsuit in planning. In addition peope are more likely to complain about problems and do this on the internet than to sing praise of standard items working as advertised. NATURALLY you are more likely to read about problems with the cable than about people having no issues with it.

If you would do a global poll of people having fraying problems than you would find that only a very tiny percentage of all lightning cable users has this problem.

Then Apple wouldn't give you a new one FOR FREE if you take a frayed one in and your phone is still under warranty. They don't have a warranty on the ****** cable yet they will still replace it. They know they suck. Also if you have one and your phone isn't under warranty they will give you one for 9.99. Huge discount. Companies that make as much money as they do don't get there by heavily discounting stuff they sell, or by giving it away.

A couple of weeks ago I went in with one and the Apple guy was like oh look surpriseeeee another broken cable... I have 4 lightning cables and every single one of them is like this. Falling apart at the lightning end. I have about 8 30 pin cables that are all the same as well. THEY SUCK PERIOD. Even Apple knows it. You just didn't get the memo. sorry.

I should also note that since purchasing a 3G and every iteration since for 3-5 family members. We haven't had any screen protectors and use minimal cases (not otter boxes or life proofs) and none of us have had to replace or repair our phones. Except for once I went swimming in a lake with mine in my pocket. This includes approximately 15 iphones for reference.
 
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mdelvecchio

macrumors 68040
Sep 3, 2010
3,151
1,149
It can be reversible all it can be, but if it is still USB 2.0, it is a waste.

do you understand that the phone's storage is slower than USB 3? as noted on these forums dozens of times every time someone complains of this?

----------

I keep thinking Apple CarPlay is going to nowhere if Apple keeps changing the connection port every two years.

youre understanding it wrong. nothing has changed for carplay or using them in USB ports everywhere.
 

Jimrod

macrumors 65816
Jun 24, 2010
1,199
659
Not the "official apple" cord though. Otherwise the poster I was responding to's complaint wasn't valid anyway.

Unless all your sockets are desk height then the current lead is too short for most people to use the phone while charging. This is based on the anecdotal evidence of the people I sit next to in the office who all agree... :p
 

chrisbru

macrumors 6502a
May 8, 2008
809
169
Austin, TX
Unless all your sockets are desk height then the current lead is too short for most people to use the phone while charging. This is based on the anecdotal evidence of the people I sit next to in the office who all agree... :p

I don't know what you're responding to. I was saying that Apple should offer more than one size cord, because some people like the current length, and some want more.

If you want a non-Apple cord, they make longer ones.
 
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