Photos Claiming to Be of New Lightning Cable with Reversible USB Connector Surface

[ColdShadow]

What on earth have you been doing with them? I'm still using the original lightning cable that came with my iPhone 5 getting on for 2 years ago and it's still in near perfect condition...

He is right,Apple charger cables are poor quality,in less than 2 years I had to change my iPhones cable twice and my iPad air cable is on its way to get ripped apart,needless to say I've been using them normally as I would use any other cable.I've never had any problems with other usb cables ever and they seem to last forever.
Sadly Apple cables are very flimsy,and thats a fact.

 

[bobr1952]

What on earth have you been doing with them? I'm still using the original lightning cable that came with my iPhone 5 getting on for 2 years ago and it's still in near perfect condition...

I don't purposely treat my iPad Air cable with care but it normally stays on the kitchen counter ready to charge my iPad--usually a couple times a week and it looks the same as when I purchased the device. Maybe they just don't travel well.

 

[SvP]

Apple does make their cables too weak, but also, people abuse them too much. (and not just Apple's cables, I'm scared to get near most vacuum cords in people's houses) Two wrongs make for frayed cables like the pics posted by various people.

OMG, we can't be ALL right, can we?

i think the problem is language: "poor quality" is a judgment. "not able to withstand 'my' usage" is more of an observation. Ofcourse some of us use the things in such a way they last 2+ years (mine do), that doesn't mean the people that break them are abnormally rough with the cables...

PS: The USB 3.1 specs look really flimsy to me. The mini-female connector looks like it'll break very easily.

 

[JobsGang]

The cables are garbage.I think the problem is when you use the phone or iPad while it's being charged.They should be 4.99$.

 

[JAT]

My point of mentioning MagSafe was that Apple doesn't recommend not using devices while charging. I know they fray horribly too, unless you want to debate that next.

And my point is you may as well have brought up how to weed your garden, Magsafe has a different device attached to it than Lightning, so a direct comparison shows nothing at all. But hey, it doesn't matter to my life.

I've already stated in this thread (and many others, if you like searching) that Apple makes weak cables. What people don't seem to get is they should take care of them, also. IMO, using an iPad with it plugged in (unless set up carefully on a table with some sort of case arrangement) is not "taking care".

iPads are used in laps, laying on beds, etc. A cable sticking out of it in this "normal" use pattern is not a good idea (for the cable). Feel free to try it as much as we have at our house (6 iPads, one Galaxy Tab) for the last 3 years and let me know if you start to think I'm not an idiot. Hint: my personal cables are all fine....my wife and kids have destroyed many. By using the device when plugged in.

 

[Lazy]

same, hate them. two of mine are already an exposed dangerous mess (they still work but i am just waiting for the day i get electrocuted). meanwhile the old ones from my iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4 are still working perfectly without any exposed wires.

also i am very "anal" about those kind of things, like the cable of my macbook pro and the iPad still have the plastic on it.

You sir are a cable abuser.

 

[2IS]

While it is kind of cool and convenient. I think it's also a bit sad that Apple innovation has tanked to the point that something like this generates so much excitement among many Apple enthusiasts.

 

[doelcm82]

My iPhone cables have frayed insulation very much like the pictures that have been posted. They don't seem to be built to take any abuse (heat, moisture, oil from the tips of your fingers, plugging, unplugging, etc.).
The solution is pretty simple, though. Just use the flimsy Apple supplied cables for light duty, and purchase a third-party cable or two for your everyday use. For best results, make sure the third-party cable is certified (with the "MFi" logo).
The ones I found at Best Buy are sturdier, and able to take everyday use better than the Apple ones, and they cost less. They also come in colors other than white, and in various lengths.

It's a good thing Apple's phones are better made than their cables.

 

[anson42]

They should be 4.99$.

While I don't disagree, the cables do have electronics in the lightning end for more than one reason so making them as cheaply as a typical USB cable won't happen. Doesn't mean economies of scale don't kick in and they could be made somewhat cheaply. But Apple is able to charge a premium for these cables because it's Apple, and the market will bear it. If you trust that Apple's Made For program means 100% compatibility -- and it had better -- monoprice is selling their approved cables for "only" $12.

 

[harrisondavies]

What on earth have you been doing with them? I'm still using the original lightning cable that came with my iPhone 5 getting on for 2 years ago and it's still in near perfect condition...

I've had four cables rip apart near the connector, two earbuds and one EarPod break apart. Whatever they do to try and stop tangling isn't working, the rubber disintegrates to quickly.

I'm not rough with my gear. After three years my MacBook pro power cable is going the same way.

 

[Kissaragi]

All for a new lightning cable as the current ones are poorly made and rip apart after a few months.

Mines lasted 2 years with no damage, try being more careful.

 

[polpo]

Reversible USB A connectors have been around for a while. I have a Matias keyboard that came with one that I've had for a little over a year.

Tripp-Lite also sells them: http://www.tripplite.com/product/Reversible-USB-Cables/1048

 

[recklesslife85]

Mines lasted 2 years with no damage, try being more careful.

I have been careful. Why can't some of you just accept Apple are not perfect. Cables are trash from my exprience.

 

[Yojimbo007]

Yes!

My ports are ready!

Dont think so !

U cant just change the plug and make it reversible .. The port has to also a accommodate that.
And if apple makes this exclusive to apple... Then there will be incompatibility with other devises with regular usb ports... Like car chargers .. Etc.

 

[Aluminum213]

I treat my lightening cable like a toy, yank it, pull it, throw it in my bag....


Never had a issue with any of the lightening cables from apple I have

 

[doelcm82]

Mines lasted 2 years with no damage, try being more careful.

I will be more careful--with the less-expensive and better-made third party cables I bought to replace the decomposing one that Apple supplied.

 

[teslo]

does no one here understand the concept of a lemon? clearly, most lightning cables are fine. some people experience breakage. sometimes, with the replacements too. surprised...?

 

[doelcm82]

I treat my lightening cable like a toy, yank it, pull it, throw it in my bag....


Never had a issue with any of the lightening cables from apple I have

The people who've been saying to treat our cables better are looking down their noses at you right now.

 

[Libi]

All for a new lightning cable as the current ones are poorly made and rip apart after a few months.

Mine lasted just short of the two years as I had to replace it last week.

 

[StyxMaker]

Well mine do so how can you possible say they dont if they do. Apple cheap out on them, only thing they do it with.

I think it must be just luck wether you get one that lasts or falls apart. I have several that all seem to be fine. The one in the car gets the worst abuse since it always ends up on the floor when I'm not using it. Friends of mine have ones that have fallen apart.

 

[mafaky]

Well, well, well!...

All of Apple's cables do that, because they design them without proper strain relief (they think it looks ugly, and it does, but it also doesn't turn brown and shred itself).

Lightning cables do this, Thunderbolt cables, MagSafe cables, 30-pin cables too. I have A MagSafe cable which is about a year old, replaced once already and is held together with tape (despite the high power being transferred). Meanwhile, I have an old-style 30-pin connector with the holding fins and an honest-to-goodness strain relief; I got it with my 5G iPod and it's still immaculate after nearly a decade of use (with other products).

I can't believe there hasn't been a class-action suit about this yet. Almost every Apple customer will experience it.

There was a redditor who worked at Apple saying that Engineering had repeatedly asked for strain reliefs on the cables but we're overruled by the Design department.

Considering the commercial cost of cables fitted with connectors/sockets, and the prices Apple charge the consumer for their "original" and mostly "flimsy" cables, you may have a difficult time to calculate Apple's earnings (profits) Apple makes thru the sales of replacement cables. At my side (using, iPod, iPad(s), & iPhone as "mobile IOS devices" I very seldom use the Apple cables that come with the hardware. I always use "legitimate" 3rd party stuff, even for the chargers. I even make sure to use 3 different chargers for my mBpr, one at home, one in office and third in a neat box sitting in the trunk of my car (never carry it in the carry bag...)!...

 

[mw360]

Dont think so !

U cant just change the plug and make it reversible .. The port has to also a accommodate that.
And if apple makes this exclusive to apple... Then there will be incompatibility with other devises with regular usb ports... Like car chargers .. Etc.

Yes you can. Read the article, follow the links, read the thread, or just the post 2 above yours

 

[cmaier]

Sadly Apple cables are very flimsy,and thats a fact.

"Because, dagnabbit, it happened to me and therefore I can draw an evidence-free universal conclusion!"

 

[4Apples]

Again?!!!

Great! Now I will have to buy a new alarm clock to fit the new plug.. Apple should develop a good cable and stick with it!

 

[cmaier]

Great! Now I will have to buy a new alarm clock to fit the new plug.. Apple should develop a good cable and stick with it!

Someone doesn't understand this story at all.