Real or Fake? Lightning to USB-C Cables for Previous iMacs Shown in 'Unreleased' Colors

[MacRumors]

Apple enthusiast @StellaFudge today shared photos of USB-C to Lightning cables in six "unreleased" colors, including what appears to be teal, blue, purple, yellow, red, and orange. He said Apple allegedly planned to include the cables with Apple silicon Macs, but the cables have never been released in these exact shades.

Image Credit: @StellaFudge​

"They're darker, more vibrant, and the normally white plastic has a matching color tint," he said.

Given the cables have a Lightning connector, that means they would have been included with iMac models with the M1 chip or M3 chip, if they are authentic. The latest iMac with the M4 chip comes with a USB-C to USB-C cable for use with the new USB-C Magic accessories.

The wording of the social media post makes it sound like these cables were designed by Apple, and ultimately never released, but there is a possibility that they could be knockoff cables created by a third party. A similar photo of colorful USB-C cables surfaced last year, but the rumor that they would be included with iPhone 15 models proved to be inaccurate. It is possible that those cables were counterfeit too, but we cannot say for sure.

Apple has included color-matching cables with the iMac since the M1 model launched in 2021, but they have brighter, pastel colors.

Considering that Apple never released these deeper-colored cables, at best, or they are knockoffs, at worst, their existence does not really mean too much in the end. However, it's a fun look at something that might have been.

@StellaFudge has also shared various unreleased Apple Watch bands in the past.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1852435351995814291

Article Link: Real or Fake? Lightning to USB-C Cables for Previous iMacs Shown in 'Unreleased' Colors

 

[fantasyname_qwertz]

seems they thought about making the edges of the iMac in a color as well. would have been way better then the white borders they have now.

 

[FSMBP]

This is why I come to this site...good old fashioned Macintosh Rumors!

For the record about those cables: they're real and they're spectacular.

 

[brofkand]

I bought a few of these off AliExpress, I prefer the braided cables. Cats are less attracted to them. They work great.

 

[green_anthony]

Somewhere something was either too expensive or too complicated in their processes so they compromised and decided on white braided cables.

I actually like those coloured cables though. They're less boring, that's a shame.

 

[centauratlas]

This is why I come to this site...good old fashioned Macintosh Rumors!

For the record about those cables: they're real and they're spectacular.

Terry! Is it you?

 

[decafjava]

Another Frieren fan I see. Regarding the cables I like the colours!

 

[coffeemilktea]

Now that Apple isn't putting Apple stickers in the box, can we get Frieren stickers instead? 🤓

Anyways, the rumor about the cables is pretty awesome if true.

 

[ignatius345]

I did like how my orange M1 iMac came with a matching USB-C/Lightning cable. That and the color-matched keyboard and mouse just makes for a nice package overall. I'm probably gonna do a Mini for my next desktop and I have to admit I will miss these little aesthetic details the iMac has, even if there's zero technical advantage.

 

[mansplains]

No fun allowed in Pro™ colors.

I would’ve enjoyed a matching teal usbc cable for my phone, on a related note.

 

[tomtad]

Can we ban the word colourways

Thanks

 

[goonie4life9]

These are Apple’s pro series of cables. Get ready for “Apple USB-C Pro!”

 

[JPack]

Too good and too much effort to be counterfeit. Apple probably tests a whole bunch of designs and colors before someone like Jony Ive makes the decision.

 

[SeaFox]

Another Frieren fan I see. Regarding the cables I like the colours!

They're autumn colors, like the kind you see on long journeys to speak to the spirits of dead comrades (with only occasional pauses to do magic and replenish snacks).

 

[-BigMac-]

Considering that Apple never released these deeper-colored cables, at best, they are knockoffs

Weird logic.

Considering Apple never released AirPower, at best, it was a knock off

 

[Sippincider]

The iMac needs a bigger screen, more than it needs matching USB cables...

 

[orbital~debris]

These look genuine, but test run, Apple productions.

If you note, the darker shades of each colour is aligned with the darker toned back of M1 & M3 iMac.

It looks like Apple decided instead to ship the iMac with the lighter-toned colour-matched cables instead, which are more like a cross between the white plastic tops of the Magic Mouse & Magic Keyboard and the paler shade of colour on the front of iMac.

 

[victorvictoria]

I worked 11 years for Apple. If it ain't on the Apple Store, then it's 3rd party. That doesn't mean it's not compliant with Apple spec. You just have to look for the label:

 

[orbital~debris]

I worked 11 years for Apple. If it ain't on the Apple Store, then it's 3rd party. That doesn't mean it's not compliant with Apple spec. You just have to look for the label:

But these wouldn't have packaging/the label – they are packed in to the accessories box included inside the box iMac ships in.

 

[Stella_Fudge]

In case anyone's curious, here's each of them individually

Every single one of them has a 2-D datamatrix etched onto the USB-C connector, which has its serial number and a couple of other pieces of info like the type of configuration that it is and other internal lingo that the notes how far in the development process it is. Some of them also had a sticker that was attached to the backside of the cardboard retainer piece which also has its matching serial number as a scannable datamatrix. Pretty standard stuff for prototypes. I've attached a couple more images of other prototypes that have similar markings, and if anyone's interested I can show you more from ones I personally have kicking around at home.

I'm also not really sure why they decided to tint to the plastic a little bit on each of them, white tip for plastic has been their thing since forever, and on some of them are kind of looks off. The yellow one for example just looks like it's aged in the sun for like 20 years.

Genuinely though I am absolutely in love with the colors overall. Even though I have like 16 of these cables, I only plan on keeping one of each colour so I'm gonna get rid of 10 of them in the near future.

If somebody is interested I can also post comparison of what each production colour looks like relative to each of these colours since I do have the full set of coloured release iMac lightning cable as well. I plan on getting myself a full set of USB-C coloured cables for the upcoming iMac as well. They kind of look like they're available to buy in Chinese gray market places now but I have doubts about how real those specific ones were.

some other Proto accessory examples for reference. Little cable style accessories will usually have data matrix somewhere, which has its serial number more often than not, and sometimes other bits of info. A cool insight into how the sausage is made I guess

 

[iZac]

There's plenty of 3rd party braided cables available on taobao. I would have said they could be real if the plastic parts were still white. The keyboard and mouse were always going to have white accents and there's no way they're making a whole 'nicotine stained' yellow keyboard to match!

BUT ... I would be onboard with a single colour iMac that didn't use the pastel highlights! The old teal colour was juicy.

 

[t0rqx]

I can confirm this is real. I have a cousin working for Apple Finance and they decided to ditch this cause it would make them miss $1000 on their quarterly revenue.

 

[Anonymous Freak]

I worked 11 years for Apple. If it ain't on the Apple Store, then it's 3rd party. That doesn't mean it's not compliant with Apple spec. You just have to look for the label:

There are plenty of fakes that illicitly slap the logo on, too. I had a $5 Amazon "Aliexpress generic" battery case for my iPhone 7 that had that the "MFi" logo, and I guarantee it didn't go through any Apple approval system.

 

[Tago]

Got an apparently great Lightening cable I was very pleased with. The phone was approaching EOL anyway thus a short term solution as the original Apple cable suffered the typical self-disintegration.

Was smashing for a few months, then trouble started - it chew the phone connector to pieces, and cut the life of the phone short with a few months. My bad, annoying though...

 

[BlairMALL]

This is why I come to this site...good old fashioned Macintosh Rumors!

For the record about those cables: they're real and they're spectacular.

This is why I come to the site! Rumors AND solid comedy! Thank you!