Alright so this just came to me and i have not seen it anywhere else in the forum but here it goes. What if the lightning connector (charging cable for iPhone/iPad etc.) had the LED indicator like the MagSafe power adapter for the MacBooks. i think it will look gorgeous and be very helpful. What do you guys think? I wish i could do some mock-ups but haven't really had the chance.
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A better lighting cable?
- Thread starter sero323
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I'd say unnecessary. If you're iPhone tells you it's charging, why do you need a light? I'm not saying it wouldn't be cool, but in what way would it be helpful?
Well your macbook tells you too but its there. I think it would be alot helpful when you dont want to press the home button or wake/sleep button. I mean i know its miner but it would be a nice touch i would say for iphone 6.
I believe the introductory price of the 30 pin charger and the lightning cable did not change. I dont think an LED light indicator will cost you more.
I agree with the thread starter, I don't think it would be more expensive and I think it would be nice just so u can take a quick look(possibly from across the room) and know if it is done or not instead of having to walk over and look every time.
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This might not be able to be done with just a change to the cable. The iOS devices might need a change in them for an LED indicator in the cable to work.
While we are all throwing out our awesome ideas and telling the world about them...
I think when u buy an iPod or iPhone that the EarPods should have the normal white cord but the remote and earpieces should be the color of the device u bought...How cool would that be?
Then when u are wearing them and your phone is in your pocket (or if u have a case on it) everyone will know u have a blue iPhone 5c or a gold iPhone 5s or a Product Red iPod nano- but apple would continue to only sell all white EarPods in stores and those colored EarPods would be exclusive to that device.
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Probably just a software change not physical change.
Its a neat idea BUT... . People associate all white earburds with Apple since the iPod, its a trademark that, i believe, is valuable to them and they dont want to give that away.
yeah and it should come with a bluetooth watch you could wear that vibrates and tells you its done so you don't even have to stress your neck and eyes to turn and look! lazy.
I'm sure that if it was possible, Apple would have done it. There may not be enough going through the cable to be able to tell. But aren't Lightning cables dual purpose? You can charge with them, but you can also use them for communication only. Having a light would be unnecessary in the later use.
Maybe. Maybe not.
Or why some of us use anything but white earbuds in large cities when walking around. Who wants to be targeted for a theft because you have an Apple device. Besides the Koss earbuds I have sound very good.
Does the LED on the MacBook Mag Safe change color or go off?
Mine is always on when plugged in...it might hang color but being colorblind I cannot tell.
I like the idea, though it would almost certainly make the Lightning cables even more expensive than they already are.
The one thing I do miss about iOS 6 is how the battery icon on the iPhone or iPad's screen changed from a battery with a lightning charge symbol in the middle to an electric plug symbol to let users know the phone was fully charged. The only way to know in iOS 7 is to enable battery power percentage.
On a different note, I would love to see an updated Lightning cable that offered USB 3.0 speeds for data transfer. The current one is really slow, especially when you're transferring music, apps, movies, etc. to one of those high-capacity iPads and iPhones.
The one thing I do miss about iOS 6 is how the battery icon on the iPhone or iPad's screen changed from a battery with a lightning charge symbol in the middle to an electric plug symbol to let users know the phone was fully charged. The only way to know in iOS 7 is to enable battery power percentage.
On a different note, I would love to see an updated Lightning cable that offered USB 3.0 speeds for data transfer. The current one is really slow, especially when you're transferring music, apps, movies, etc. to one of those high-capacity iPads and iPhones.
Do you actually watch for 100% and then unplug your phone? That seems like a waste of time. I plug it in when idle, and then just unplug it when I go. It's always in top-off mode, often resulting in 100%. If it's really low, I leave it longer, but when I have to take it, it's going to come along regardless of the %. Adding a light seems it would encourage watching-the-grass-grow behavior, which would turn into an annoyance of a ritual.
Actually i don't think it would be hard to put a battery percent indicator light on the lightning cable because if u think about it when u plug your iphone in the computer the computer can tell u if it is charged-and that info is going through the lightning connector so why couldn't it show it itself on the cord?
That would be easy- it would just be a little tiny light the size if the tip of a paper clip
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Here is my mock up (made it in like 5 seconds so it is kinda sucky)
Is that like what u were thinking? If not tell me and I'll change it to how u imagined it.
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I have this and it actually works with no errors:
Zeetron Light Up Lightning USB Cable for iPhone 5 5S 5C iPad 4 iPad... http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00G5K3B46/ref=cm_sw_r_udp_awd_gZE3sb038EWKX
Zeetron Light Up Lightning USB Cable for iPhone 5 5S 5C iPad 4 iPad... http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00G5K3B46/ref=cm_sw_r_udp_awd_gZE3sb038EWKX
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There needs to be two LEDs each to be a minimal size and there is circuitry needed to power the LED, control the colors based on charge status.
We are in the year 2014 it is super easy. Who would have thought u could make an entire computer fit in an A7 chip... Anything is possible and this is a very easy thing to make
Look at the quote below with the link and look at it-
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That's actually pretty cool-better than my mock up
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The computer is receiving the charging information via USB and not as a discreet signal. There would be no easy way to capture that information as is in a cable. The iOS device would need to know there's an LED in the cable and be able to send a signal to it.
The light is on only when plugged in. It is orange when its charging and green when its done charging.
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Thats pretty much it. Just a smaller LED would be better lol
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That looks gorgeous.
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If im not mistaking iOS will need to be updated and i dont see why it shouldnt work. The currect lightning connector would simply need a light to display green/orange based on full/charging status. Another post on this thread shows a lightning connector made by a 3rd party that shows the light. I dont think an iphone would need to have a different hardware to support it.
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The only problem is that It might not work with a case on. It even says that in the product description that the case might need to be removed.