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Unauthorized Third-Party Chargers May Damage iPhone 5 Charging Circuitry
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I'm totally fine with using Apple's cables, but they really should tolerate bad power supplies better -- especially when using Apple's cables. The biggest reason why is that they use a standard USB connector. Apple has no control over what is going to come out of a USB connector, so they should be prepared for pretty much anything (within reason, of course -- I don't know how they would even handle it if somehow 110 AC was connected up, other than the wire would most likely burn up 
).
The Apple lightning cables have an IC in them. Hopefully regulating the voltage coming over the cable is one of the functions it does.
).The Apple lightning cables have an IC in them. Hopefully regulating the voltage coming over the cable is one of the functions it does.
The reality of it is that chargers should all be fine if they are 5V +- 0.3V and have minimal amounts of ripple on the supply lines. Higher amperage is NOT a problem. (Not sure what the max voltage on the data lines would be, I'd guess 3.6V, but I doubt that's even the real concern here.)
For the chargers that did the damage, I'm pretty sure didn't come anywhere close to meeting the spec I just said. I've seen some pretty nasty chargers connected to my scope which have ripple that's just bad.
Voltage from a power supply isn't constant. It varies depending on how much you're using and the quality of the power supply regulation. In many cheap chargers, they'll repeatedly swing up and down, sometimes by over a volt. When measured with a multimeter, it'll average out to 5V. But in reality, it's bouncing from say 6.5 volts to 3.5 volts thousands of times per second. Regularly feeding in a voltage 30% over spec is bound to cause issues.
This guy's posted a ton about this, so you can take a look for yourself.
http://www.righto.com/2012/10/a-dozen-usb-chargers-in-lab-apple-is.html
I'm totally fine with using Apple's cables, but they really should tolerate bad power supplies better -- especially when using Apple's cables. The biggest reason why is that they use a standard USB connector. Apple has no control over what is going to come out of a USB connector, so they should be prepared for pretty much anything (within reason, of course -- I don't know how they would even handle it if somehow 110 AC was connected up, other than the wire would most likely burn up
The Apple lightning cables have an IC in them. Hopefully regulating the voltage coming over the cable is one of the functions it does.
The cables won't regulate and filter the power because that'd increase the costs insanely.
When you say they should be prepared for pretty much anything within reason, what's "within reason"? 5% over spec? 10% over spec?
I just posted a link to a least 1 cheap charger that's 30% over spec; and I wouldn't be surprised if there's worse.
Seriously?
Whatever "open up the standard" thing you meant, doesn't mean squat when it comes to solving the problem of making better adapters. The problem isn't Lightning versus USB, it's badly built chargers versus well-built chargers. Think this is solved outside of the Apple ecosystem? Guess again, this problem exists outside as well. Ever seen a Nexus 4 flicker like mad when plugged into some cheap chargers because it can't decide if it can charge or not? Of course not, there's not enough Nexus 4 owners to complain loud enough for people to notice. But that doesn't mean it didn't happen. HP Touchpad? Yeah. Motorola? That too.
The reality is that this has nothing to do with opening standards, and has everything to do with not making your phone (whoever made it) drink power that's as clean as pond scum.
...woosh over your head goes the point.
I was responding to the point of "USB too slow, Lightning faster, therefore Lightning is the greatest thing ever".
USB can be made faster, lightning's only true advantage is that it is reversible.
I never said that. I didn't even know it was faster. The big advantage of Lightning besides it being reversible is that it can be changed per-application without changing the form at all, thanks to reassignable pins. It allows for more features than USB does, as did the old 30 pin connector. It handles video a lot more naturally, for example. Also, it fits into the phone a lot more easily than Micro USB does, making docking stations easier.
If only Apple would drop this Lightning "certification" BS or fix it so it actually works reliably.
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They both transfer data.
One is faster. When I transfer data, I care about 1 thing: which one can transfer data more quickly.
Being reversible is a neat little gimmick, but that's all it is, a gimmick.
Saying anything other than transfer speed (and perhaps the supported wattage) is important is nonsense.
"It handles video a lot more naturally" what? Data is data, period. ONE thing matters for transferring data over a cable... speed. There is no such thing as "more naturally", that's a sad little marketing gimmick that you seem to have fallen for.
What do you think handles video more "naturally", a lightning cable, or a SATA cable that supports up to 6 gigabit/sec?
First of all, being reversible is not a gimmick. You don't have to even look at it to plug it in. A lot less annoying.
Whichever cable already has a standard or pins set aside for sending and receiving (something) handles it more naturally. Yeah, digital data can carry anything with the proper encoding/decoding, but then it becomes complicated. Coax (2 pins) can carry many 1080p video streams with an expensive TV tuner. If Apple wants to change two of the pins to something else, which doesn't even necessarily have to be digital, they can.
Also, I looked it up and found that Lightning supports more wattage than USB does (12W vs 9W). This is probably why Samsung's 10" tablets don't use Micro USB; it can't power them properly. They use some kind of 30 pin connector that I think is what Apple used.
You have literally no idea what you are talking about if you think a cable can handle data more "naturally" than another cable.
Also, I'm not sure where you get this notion that Lightning can handle a different amount of electricity than USB, since lightning *is* a USB cable.
Also, you just said that a cable with dedicated pins is better, and then you said that Apple can change what the pins on lightning does. Using your explicit logic, lightning is bad because the pins are not dedicated.
1. It can carry more current than Micro USB. The limit is not on the full-size USB connector but on the Micro USB side, according to the spec. If you don't believe me, there are plenty of sources easily found on Google.
2. Which pin does what on a Lightning cable is controlled by a chip. This means that, as long as a certain device is connected, Lightning can dedicate certain pins to something if needed. Which pins are dedicated to what changes depending on which device is connected. Before this, Apple was solving the problem by using a bunch of pins with their own purposes, resulting in a huge 30 pin connector.
Lightning is supposed to be forward-compatible with future versions of USB, meaning that it won't have to change again. I can't find any information about whether or not MicroUSB is, but Samsung added USB 3.0 support to some devices and had to change the connector.
The forced lock-in to the Apple ecosystem continues.
Like prisoners in a camp Apple dictates how their products will be used. Now more than ever it's obvious the massive impact the loss of Steve Jobs has on Apple. If he were here, he'd speak to his followers, telling them how it's going to be in a way that would sound magical and revolutionary. They'd promptly get out their wallets and ask how much.
Much like the thousands of responses here year after year. Upon the announcement of a new product we see these same old responses "just take my money". It's a wonderful testament to Steve's ability to sell anything at any price.
Apple is not the same without him.
Like prisoners in a camp Apple dictates how their products will be used. Now more than ever it's obvious the massive impact the loss of Steve Jobs has on Apple. If he were here, he'd speak to his followers, telling them how it's going to be in a way that would sound magical and revolutionary. They'd promptly get out their wallets and ask how much.
Much like the thousands of responses here year after year. Upon the announcement of a new product we see these same old responses "just take my money". It's a wonderful testament to Steve's ability to sell anything at any price.
Apple is not the same without him.
It's a cord, not rocket science. Apple has done this on purpose. This has nothing to do with safety, it's all bogus. This is just a money grab. Which is fine, Apple can do whatever it wants with it's phones, the problem come at what point will people say enough and ditch Apple. I think that point is starting to show.
Wow, I haven't seen two posts from the same person say such opposing things in a long time. Can you decide whether you're debating me or yourself?
Not sure if anyone has responded to let you know, but apple does have a 6 foot charger for $29 in the apple store (2 meter lightning cable)
Here is a link it's even on the online site: http://store.apple.com/us/product/M...5b6e8929257c1f2bed160efce45ed5960041d3792f053
Thank god I live in the EU... http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/sectors/rtte/chargers/index_en.htm
One charger for all.
Wasn't sure where else to put this post but a few people have claimed that they always take their genuine Apple cables back to Apple for free replacement when they fail and I sure don't know how they do it.
I just went to an Apple store to exchange a damaged lightning cable and they made it very clear that if I hadn't had an iOS device that was still under warranty that they really had nothing they could do for me.
The Apple website doesn't mention any warranty info on cables so I don't know what it is, but telling them that I had bought spare cables from that very store didn't seem to matter.
All they wanted to know was whether my iPad/iPhone was still under warranty.
I really like their hardware but I really don't understand the raves about Apple's customer service. I've heard lots of amazing stories but from my own experiences, Apple's service is no better than anybody else's.
I just went to an Apple store to exchange a damaged lightning cable and they made it very clear that if I hadn't had an iOS device that was still under warranty that they really had nothing they could do for me.
The Apple website doesn't mention any warranty info on cables so I don't know what it is, but telling them that I had bought spare cables from that very store didn't seem to matter.
All they wanted to know was whether my iPad/iPhone was still under warranty.
I really like their hardware but I really don't understand the raves about Apple's customer service. I've heard lots of amazing stories but from my own experiences, Apple's service is no better than anybody else's.
On the second count http://store.apple.com/us/product/MD819ZM/A/lightning-to-usb-cable-2-m?fnode=45 and just in case 2 meters = 6.5 feet. I have one of these. On your first point this article directly references "Apple Certified" accessories not just Apple branded accessories. i.e. anything that falls under this https://developer.apple.com/programs/mfi/
They don't necessarily have to be made by Apple, just MFi certified. Other companies can receive this certification on their cables or accessories if they prove to be of acceptable quality.
That's not the point. Why does a cable cost that much? You can buy a micro usb cable for like 5 bucks. Almost 20 bucks for a cable is ridiculous. I wish apple would do away with lightening anyway in favor of micro USB. All my electronics use a micro USB except for my damn ipad.
And it is not like the lightning cable is made with such quality. They wear down worse than the 30pin cable.