Belkin's $40 Lightning Adapter Lets You Listen to Music and Charge Your iPhone 7 at the Same Time

[MacRumors]

Belkin today announced the Lightning Audio + Charge RockStar for the iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus, an accessory that will allow iPhone 7 users to charge their iPhones and listen to music at the same time.

According to Belkin, the Lightning Audio + Charge RockStar was developed "closely" with Apple, and it does indeed resemble Apple's own iOS adapter accessories. The Lightning connector on the end of the RockStar plugs into the iPhone for passthrough charging (up to 12W), while additional Lightning ports on the device accommodate either the Lightning-based EarPods or headphones with a 3.5mm jack using Apple's 3.5mm to Lightning adapter (included with the iPhone 7).

"We're excited to offer the Lightning Audio + Charge RockStar to our customers, extending our family of RockStar multi-port products and creating an easy way for people to charge and listen on the go," says Steve Malony, VP, GM Belkin.

Belkin's Lightning Audio + Charge RockStar doesn't seem to be a perfect solution to the charging while listening issue. The Lightning end needs to be plugged into the iPhone, while a Lighting cable needs to be plugged into one port for charging and Lightning headphones (or headphones with an adapter) need to be plugged into the other port, resulting in a mess of cables. Adding in the 3.5mm to Lightning adapter makes the situation even worse, with a total of two adapters and a Lightning cord plugged into the iPhone.

The Lightning Audio + Charge Rockstar supports 48 kHz 24-bit audio output and it's able to work with a variety of cases, including the iPhone 7 Smart Battery Case. It is Made for iPhone certified.

Belkin plans to start selling the Lightning Audio + Charge Rockstar on October 10 for $39.95. It will be available from the Belkin website, the Apple online store, and Apple retail stores.

Article Link: Belkin's $40 Lightning Adapter Lets You Listen to Music and Charge Your iPhone 7 at the Same Time

 

[DTphonehome]

Super convenient!

/s

 

[S.B.G]

When/if Apple comes out with one, it will be $79.99. Plus you have an adapter with an adapter... Lightning to this thing, to 3.5mm audio...

 

[JesperA]

Great, buy an adapter so we can use an adapter with the adapter (3.5mm to lighting for us with "regular" headphones)

 

[lordofthereef]

Maybe it's the picture but the size of this thing makes it look only marginally better than a dock with the clear distinction of not actually being s dock while still being the same price.

 

[navaira]

Great, buy an adapter so we can use an adapter with the adapter (3.5mm to lighting for us with "regular" headphones)

Argh! You beat me to it.

 

[spazzcat]

Super convenient!

/s

How is this different then have the headphone cable in your car?

 

[MacNut]

Good, now I can jump rope down the street.

 

[SSD-GUY]

MOAR adapters please.

 

[tubeexperience]

Oh great!

A bulky adapter for something that was not needed for the past iPhones.

What innovations can Apple think of next?

 

[PJWilkin]

$20 and maybe I'd have considered it

 

[xmlninja]

People need to calm down about the audio jack removal. I mean, who is really crazy... the one who removed an ancient connector from their modern pocket computer, or the one who bought analog headphones for $350 now screaming and shoking... jeez.

 

[DevNull0]

The Apple EcoSystem -- Land of 1000 adapters.

 

[enthusiastic]

Great, buy an adapter so we can use an adapter with the adapter (3.5mm to lighting for us with "regular" headphones)

Adapterception

 

[Ahheck01]

Oh thank goodness! Now to plug in my headphones and charge while driving, I just plug my headphones into my 3.5 to lightning adapter, plug my usb cable into my car charger, plug that usb into Belkin's new adapter, plug the 3.5 to lightning adapter into Belkins adapter, and plug Belkin's adapter into my phone.

Thanks Apple for working closely with Belkin on this solution to your courage!

 

[arkmannj]

I'm glad someone is doing it, but 3 thoughts.
1) It's Sad that this has to be done in the first place
2) This is functionality that Apple's included adaptor should have been (but with a 3.5mm port included)
3) is there anything stopping you from using other adaptors with this?
(like the lightning SD card reader and power, or USB Camera adaptor and music/audio, A/V (Hdmi/Vga) adaptor and power...and other combos)
If so, that would be even more useful.

 

[skwood]

If we get wireless charging on the iPhone "8" then this problem goes away.

 

[Someone256]

I need more adapters! those aren't enough!! Give me more!!! I want all the adapterssss

 

[bladerunner2000]

More kludge for a crippled phone. Why not just get an Android phone and make your life easy?

 

[danielwsmithee]

My guess is monoprice will have the same thing within a month or so for $9.99.

 

[Appleaker]

Hopefully ones with a headphone jack coming soon.

 

[tazinlwfl]

Maybe it's the picture but the size of this thing makes it look only marginally better than a dock with the clear distinction of not actually being s dock while still being the same price.

Looks like it's the same size as the AV Adapter Apple released some time ago (which was also too big)...

 

[the-oz-man]

I thought we were supposed to avoid this . . .

 

[Jungo]

Maybe THIS will end the crying.

 

[DTphonehome]

How is this different then have the headphone cable in your car?

Because you have to plug an adaptor into this adaptor to use the 3.5mm plug.