Apple's Lightning Connector Uses Adaptive Technology to Dynamically Assign Pin Functions

[foodog]

Intelligent cable: the computer chip is there so you don't have to flip it! What a great innovation. Can I get AppleCare with it?

Sounds like a typical American solution. Reminds me a story when Americans spent $10 million to develop a pen for astronauts. Russians just used pencil.

So get your credit card ready to pay $30 for each cable instead of $0.99 for USB.

You realize of course this is completely false right? The Americans used pencils too. Because there is little to no gravity in space a broken piece of lead posed a hazard, inhalation and eye injury specifically.... not to mention what would happen if it shorted out electrical components on board. Paul Fisher developed the pen at his cost... both the American and Russian Space programs stopped using pencils in 1968. There is another saying more appropriate to your last sentence... you get what you pay for.

 

[Elijahg]

Why do people keep saying the cables are $29?

Oh, I assumed the masses were right. Fixed and noted, thanks!

 

[Geckotek]

Oh, I assumed the masses were right. Fixed and noted, thanks!

Then I should also point out that Apple currently sells 30-pin cables for $19 as well. The real issue here is whether or not 3rd party manufacturers will be able to make cheaper alternatives. But Apple is selling us a cable that cost them 8x as much to make for the same price as the old cable. No doubt they are still making a profit, but they aren't raping us as badly as most people would like everyone to think.

 

[cotak]

How much is AppleCare for this cable? Image

The feature require hardware support IN the Phone. Dummy.

 

[Beligerent]

I think my 4S is the last Apple phone I will own.

 

[phr0ze]

This seems horribly overcomplicated. No wonder the cables are $19 now.

They were always $19. Why do people act like Apple suddently changed the price.

 

[fmalloy]

Why do people keep saying the cables are $29?

You're right - they are not $29. They are $39 for the Lightning-to-30-pin cable. Because this: 1) adds much needed length to the super-short existing cables, and 2) it lets you reuse the many existing 30-pin cables you've acquired over the years.

Since the adapter cable is so useful, of course Apple had to jack the cost up even further. Because we all know they are so hurting for money.

The $29 is for the adapter plug only, which is another way to let you reuse your cables.

You would think that if Apple is going to force us to toss our cables and docks for a fancy new interface that the least they could do for us is toss us a bone and give us 6 foot cables as a consolation.

 

[Geckotek]

You're right - they are not $29. They are $39 for the Lightning-to-30-pin cable. Because this: 1) adds much needed length to the super-short existing cables, and 2) it lets you reuse the many existing 30-pin cables you've acquired over the years.

Since the adapter cable is so useful, of course Apple had to jack the cost up even further. Because we all know they are so hurting for money.

The $29 is for the adapter plug only, which is another way to let you reuse your cables.

You would think that if Apple is going to force us to toss our cables and docks for a fancy new interface that the least they could do for us is toss us a bone and give us 6 foot cables as a consolation.

The lightning cable is $19.

 

[fmalloy]

The lightning cable is $19.

Thanks for confirming. $19 for three feet of wire, a competition-suppressing chip, and a couple of connectors. Got it, thanks.

 

[Geckotek]

Thanks for confirming. $19 for three feet of wire, a competition-suppressing chip, and a couple of connectors. Got it, thanks.

Yep and the existing 30-pin connector is the same.

I've never tried to imply this is some great value so your sarcasm is lost on me.

Edit: And it's been proven that the purpose of the chip is for pin reassignment, not to supress competition. I still have faith we'll see some cheaper alternatives in the future. Until then, any comment otherwise is an assumption and nothing more.

 

[samcraig]

Maybe you'll like this too. http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/26/samsung-patched-dirty-USSD-vulnerability/

While I agree his post was off topic, your link doesn't help fandroids much in the Android vs. iOS debate. I love some of the narrative in your linked article:

• "We know for a certainty that an update to the unlocked international version of the Galaxy S III (an Ice Cream Sandwich incremental patch) was issued some time ago that addressed this exploit as well."
  
• "We cannot speak with absolute authority as to whether all Samsung Galaxy S III's have had this fixed, as the carrier update rollout process can result in significant delays in this regard."
  
• "What we do know is that every variant of the Galaxy S III in the United States received very similar OTA updates in the last few weeks (see: Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint, AT&T). And if the exploit isn't working in the most recent AT&T OTA, it's probably fair to assume the same fixes were contained in all three other carriers' updates. So, if your GS3 is up to date, you're probably not vulnerable."
  
• "And, as we said in our initial post - this isn't even a Samsung issue, strictly speaking. It's an Android one that has been known for ages, and manufacturers have been extremely slow to patch it."

Those quotes illustrate one of the HUGE issues with Android phones: Fragmentation. No curation. Call it a walled garden if you will, but at least Apple doesn't let a hundred handset manufacturer and carrier combinations rule the day when it comes to providing a consistent, quality experience.

<finished ranting>

 

[Elijahg]

They were always $19. Why do people act like Apple suddently changed the price.

I'd made a mistake in originally thinking they were $19 and went to $29. Most seem to have made the same mistake. But even so, it's gonna be several times the price for third party cables. You know, the ones that don't use "eco friendly" PVC-free coatings and so don't break at the stupidly short strain relief after a few months.

 

[Geckotek]

I'd made a mistake in originally thinking they were $19 and went to $29. Most seem to have made the same mistake. But even so, it's gonna be several times the price for third party cables. You know, the ones that don't use "eco friendly" PVC-free coatings and so don't break at the stupidly short strain relief after a few months.

Is that why they break? Are my cheap cables killing the environment.

One day we'll have eco-friendly stuff that doesn't suck...I hope.

 

[Elijahg]

Edit: And it's been proven that the purpose of the chip is for pin reassignment, not to supress competition.

Why didn't Apple have 4 pins in a default state that allows USB charging and sync with a simple straight through cable? Or even a few more that default to line out? Hell, they could even use the remaining two pins (as three would be used for line out and 4 for USB & power) as two-way serial communication like they do with the old connector, which'd mean docks with remotes and track change buttons would work with a simple straight through adapter too.

It'd enable cheap, simple adapters that were just wired from pin X on the male Lightning connector to pin Y on the female Dock Connector. No doubt 90% of people use their Dock Connector simply for charging and the occasional use in a speaker dock or in the car. Very few would need the full blown converter for the other uses (HDMI/VGA out, mic in, etc).

Seems like either oversight or an additional money spinner to me...!

 

[Elijahg]

Is that why they break? Are my cheap cables killing the environment.

One day we'll have eco-friendly stuff that doesn't suck...I hope.

Yeah, the Apple cables seem to be a kind of dense foam, which is why they have that matte look to them and get grubby easily. I presume the plastic they use isn't flexible when it's solid, so injecting air into it makes it flexible-ish. Just eventually those little bubbles fatigue and the cable tears open... Blame Greenpeace, somehow it's better to throw away several non-PVC cables a year than it is to have one PVC one last for 5 years. I've got some of the PVC ones with the buttons on the side still working just fine. The strain relief on those PVC cables is slotted too, so it bends more than the new ones and actually relieves the strain.

For the life of me I can't understand why they don't add a strain relief that's 3/4 inch instead of the stupid 1/4 inch one they have now... Same thing happened with the T shape Magsafe connectors, they kept breaking at the strain relief coz the strain relief wasn't relieving any strain at all!

 

[Geckotek]

Why didn't Apple have 4 pins in a default state that allows USB charging and sync with a simple straight through cable? Or even a few more that default to line out? Hell, they could even use the remaining two pins (as three would be used for line out and 4 for USB & power) as two-way serial communication like they do with the old connector, which'd mean docks with remotes and track change buttons would work too.

That'd enable cheap, simple adapters that were just wired from pin X on the male Lightning connector to pin Y on the female Dock Connector. No doubt 90% of people use their Dock Connector simply for charging and the occasional use in a speaker dock or in the car. Very few would need the full blown converter for the other uses (HDMI/VGA out, mic in, etc).

Seems like either oversight or an additional money spinner to me...!

Because those solutions would completely exclude the solutions that you say very few people would need. Enough people today use HDMI/VGA out in the business world that it's important to keep it. Obviously Apple realized this.

 

[Elijahg]

Because those solutions would completely exclude the solutions that you say very few people would need. Enough people today use HDMI/VGA out in the business world that it's important to keep it. Obviously Apple realized this.

I don't mean that Apple should eliminate the more complex adapter entirely, just if you needed the complex one you could buy that for $29 (I checked this time ) or a simple one for a few dollars. I don't know any products that make use of HDMI/VGA over the Dock Connector other than Apple's own adapters anyway. You'd just buy the Lightning version of the HDMI/VGA adapter instead of the DC version plus a Lightning to DC adapter.

To me, it doesn't look like the socket on the Lightning connector is volumetrically much less than the old connector anyway, it's just not as wide and possibly slightly thinner. It's much deeper than the old one, plus with the reconfigurable pins it surely has a chip in the iPhone to do the reconfiguring too.

 

[phr0ze]

I'd made a mistake in originally thinking they were $19 and went to $29. Most seem to have made the same mistake. But even so, it's gonna be several times the price for third party cables. You know, the ones that don't use "eco friendly" PVC-free coatings and so don't break at the stupidly short strain relief after a few months.

Sorry, Over the last 8-10 years of using iDevices, my apple cables have never failed (though some have separated from the strain relief, but still work). However my third party cables have broken and they feel cheaper all the way around.

$19 for a cable is fair from a well known brand/retail. Sorry but does anyone know how much best buy charged for a HDMI cable or optical cable? $30-$90. These are simple cables. Discount stores like Walmart charged $19 for the same cable, which is still several times the cost.

 

[Elijahg]

Sorry, Over the last 8-10 years of using iDevices, my apple cables have never failed (though some have separated from the strain relief, but still work). However my third party cables have broken and they feel cheaper all the way around.

I tend to take care of the cables, but I've still had a couple break. The general populace seems to take less care though, I've seen quite a few of my friends with broken ones.

I'm pretty sure in that state it can be classified as broken. Even if it still works electrically, it's not a good idea to use as you're at risk of shorting the data & power pins, which is seriously not good for the logic board of either the host or iDevice.

 

[G4scott]

Sorry, Over the last 8-10 years of using iDevices, my apple cables have never failed (though some have separated from the strain relief, but still work). However my third party cables have broken and they feel cheaper all the way around.

$19 for a cable is fair from a well known brand/retail. Sorry but does anyone know how much best buy charged for a HDMI cable or optical cable? $30-$90. These are simple cables. Discount stores like Walmart charged $19 for the same cable, which is still several times the cost.

AmazonBasics. Their HDMI cables can be had at 2 for $10, and not only do they work for me, they seem to work for plenty of other people as well (see their reviews.) I bought 2 of the iPhone cables (older ones) for $9 each, and while they do feel cheaper than the Apple ones, they work just as well for me.

The cable itself probably costs ~$5-8 to manufacture.

 

[coolspot18]

Read the last few pages.

Overkill - USB or any other existing technology can do what lighting can do.

----------

Micro USB is a clumsy, fragile connector that also has the downside of being only able to charge at about half the rate of the recently superseded connector.

Micro USB is used on almost every other phone platform (Blackberry, Android, Nokia)... it's rare to hear of a damaged MicroUSB connector...

 

[jonnysods]

You must be looking at the wrong part because they are $19.

Edit: Sorry, just realized you aren't living in the US. My apologies.

That's okay. I live 30 minutes from the US border so it makes sense that they should be double the price with a 13% tax on top of that.

 

[Geckotek]

That's okay. I live 30 minutes from the US border so it makes sense that they should be double the price with a 13% tax on top of that.

LOL...sorry. But you can drive over and buy in the US...right?

 

[phr0ze]

AmazonBasics. Their HDMI cables can be had at 2 for $10, and not only do they work for me, they seem to work for plenty of other people as well (see their reviews.) I bought 2 of the iPhone cables (older ones) for $9 each, and while they do feel cheaper than the Apple ones, they work just as well for me.

The cable itself probably costs ~$5-8 to manufacture.

I'm stating when HDMI was new by a brick and mortar retailer. Apple has brick and mortar operations they must support. None the less, Amazon is still a discount retailer to me.

 

[repoman27]

And it's been proven that the purpose of the chip is for pin reassignment, not to supress competition. I still have faith we'll see some cheaper alternatives in the future. Until then, any comment otherwise is an assumption and nothing more.

Actually, that has not been proven at all. I'm pretty sure that the pins on the two sides of the PCB are connected using simple vias, and that the host device can use the 2 signaling pairs interchangeably through the same engineering trick that brought auto-MDIX to Ethernet back in 1998.

Peter "scootermafia" Bradstock has now managed to get two high profile rumors syndicated, and as far as I can tell there has been zero truth to either of them.

Overkill - USB or any other existing technology can do what lighting can do.

Micro USB is used on almost every other phone platform (Blackberry, Android, Nokia)... it's rare to hear of a damaged MicroUSB connector...

I guess we'll just have to go through this again...

OEM's that produce handsets and tablets are all facing the same basic problem. They need a charge/sync interface, for which the USB Micro-AB connector works just fine and has become the de-facto standard. However, now that we have handsets with SoC's that can record, encode/decode and output HD video, they also need a video out interface. Micro-HDMI seemed poised to fill that role, but having multiple interfaces uses interior volume that is becoming ever more precious. Since video out is only utilized to a limited degree at this point, sacrificing the space required for an additional interface is not desirable.

Silicon Image came up with MHL as a workaround to this issue. It can pipe HDMI over a standard 5-pin USB Micro-AB connector. However, unless you are using it in conjunction with an MHL enabled display, you need to use an MHL to HDMI adapter that generally requires an external power source. Additionally, Silicon Image charges OEM's a licensing fee to implement MHL. For their Galaxy S III, Samsung introduced a proprietary 11-pin MHL interface that was capable of simultaneous USB charge/sync and video output, and had the ability to power it's own MHL-HDMI adapter, but also caused the device to be incompatible with the existing adapters already on the market.

Over the next few years, smartphones and tablets will inevitably shift to using USB 3.0, and the USB 3.0 Micro-AB connector uses 10 pins and is roughly twice the size of the 2.0 connector. Furthermore, neither is capable of delivering the amount of current required to charge a tablet battery in a reasonable amount of time.

Thus Apple decided to shift from one proprietary interface to another that can potentially solve all of these problems, instead of just going with a "standard" connector that has some serious issues. As far as I can tell, all evidence points to Lightning being an implementation of VESA's MyDP which was originally developed by ST-Micro Electronics and ST-Ericsson as an alternative to MHL.