Apple Puts Authentication Chip In Lightning Cable Ensures No Cheap Third-Party Option

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cheezy321

cheezy321

Diamond Member
Dec 31, 2003
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zsdersw said:
No, I consider you "coming to Apple's defense" because of the post of yours that I quoted.



No.
Click to expand...

Good to know you think flat out lies (if this is proven incorrect) are ok as long as it 'deflates apple users egos'.

Thanks for the clarification.
 
L

lothar

Diamond Member
Jan 5, 2000
6,674
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Yongsta said:
Dari is an Apple & Japanese fanboy (he's Japanese I believe), hence the hate at Samsung's success (they're Korean). Just don't feed the troll.
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He is both Japanese and also a Sony fan that is ashamed of what Samsung has achieved in the past 2 decades.
Sony is no longer a household name like it was 2 decades ago. Samsung has overtaken them.

I love trolling trolls. Just like I love scamming scammers.
Yes, I am one of those people that respond to every Nigerian email scams requesting for money and visit that 419eater website quite often to laugh.
 
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jpeyton

jpeyton

Moderator in SFF, Notebooks, Pre-Built/Barebones
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Aug 23, 2003
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Do the math. If we're generous and say that Lightning cables/adapters cost $3 to manufacture, and they retail for an average of $30, that's $27 in profit for Apple and their retail partners.

Now imagine only the opening weekend iPhone 5 buyers, all 5 million of them. They on average have two accessories/locations that need adapters/cables. 5 million x $27 = $135 million in profits on the opening weekend alone. Profits that wouldn't exist if they went with the smaller, more commonplace microUSB.

Of course, that's a low estimate. Mass produced accessory cables typically cost around 25 cents or less to manufacture (microUSB, Apple 30-pin). I don't really think the authentication circuitry inside the Lightning cable costs $2.75 to produce, but I'm giving Apple the benefit of the doubt since it's a brand new connector for them.
 
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Eug

Eug

Lifer
Mar 11, 2000
24,165
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pm said:
As a consumer I was (and still am) frustrated and annoyed that Apple chose to implement a new connector instead of adopting microUSB, but as an electrical engineer, I don't buy the argument that this chip is an authentication chip. The cable is a bidrectional fully adaptable (pins can be swapped out as needed) digital connection. If you can change the way the pins are configured on-the-fly, then it makes sense that there's got to be a chip in there that's figuring out the orientation and the usage model and changing the power and signal routing. It possible that the chip has some sort of authentication element to it - Apple has done that before in cables that I have seen - but no one knows for certain that it's an authentication chip and it clearly has to serve another purpose other than just locking out the cheap cable makers.

If people who are already inclined to dislike Apple want to automatically jump to the conclusion that makes Apple look bad, then that's their prerogative, but I'll wait for iFixit to do a teardown.

In the end, though, it doesn't really matter to me because I have no intention of buying an iPhone 5. I'm waiting for the next Nexus....
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Even if that were true, I suspect it could function similarly to EOS chips in Canon cameras, vs. 3rd party lens compatibility. Compatibility would break with iOS updates and new iPhone/iPad/iPod releases.

Canon releases camera.
Sigma releases lens. It works on said camera.
Canon releases new camera.
Sigma lens does not work on new camera.

At least with the Sigma, they can sometimes update the lens firmware to maintain compatibility with the new Canon camera. With a cheap 3rd party cable, that won't be possible.

Even though Canon hasn't prevented reverse-engineering the mount, they've made it complex enough that there is a strong incentive not to buy 3rd party lenses. Same goes with Apple and 3rd party cables.
 
jpeyton

jpeyton

Moderator in SFF, Notebooks, Pre-Built/Barebones
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Spicedaddy

Spicedaddy

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Apr 18, 2002
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And BTW, microUSB durability sucks compared to the Lightning connector. How much will it cost to fix your busted microUSB plug on your 600$ phone?
 
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Phanuel

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Apr 25, 2008
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It'll be interesting to see what car manufacturers will have to do to maintain full compatibility with ipods/iphones and integrated speaker systems like the BMW idrive.
 
jpeyton

jpeyton

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zsdersw said:
It's needlessly expensive, actually.
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Not if you're a licensed accessory partner with Apple.

Gee, should I buy an adapter for $30, or just junk my whole speaker dock and get a new iPhone 5 version for $50?
 
zsdersw

zsdersw

Lifer
Oct 29, 2003
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Spicedaddy said:
And BTW, microUSB durability sucks compared to the Lightning connector. How much will it cost to fix your busted microUSB plug on your 600$ phone?
Click to expand...

Having had a ton of microUSB devices over the years, I can safely say not one of them has broken. Maybe it's time to put the blame where it belongs: the user.
 
jpeyton

jpeyton

Moderator in SFF, Notebooks, Pre-Built/Barebones
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Spicedaddy said:
And BTW, microUSB durability sucks compared to the Lightning connector. How much will it cost to fix your busted microUSB plug on your 600$ phone?
Click to expand...
Never busted one.

After Scuffgate, I'm sure most people don't care about Apple's definition of "durable". We should wait for real world reviews instead of declaring it more durable than microUSB.

Besides, Apple changing the connector doesn't fix the underlying issue about their cables.

ipod-cable-530x440.jpg


It's interesting that I've never seen jacket separation like that with any of my microUSB cables, even the cheap 99-cent ones I order from China. It's almost as if Apple engineers their cables with an expiration date. Looks like the new Lightning cables are designed to break in the same manner:

MD824

MD818


Compared to the durable jacket on any cheap run-of-the-mill microUSB cable:

white_mirco_usb_cable.jpg
 
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R

Randum

Platinum Member
Jan 28, 2004
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This just does not surprise me. Remember their mini-audio plugs on their speakers? They had a guard on them so you couldnt plug them into a normal mini-plug?

They have always been about proprietary components. Sony does this as well (PS Vita cards...please...and the Sony SD cards...) but for whatever reason people react differently.

This is a representation of why I dislike Apple in general, being different for the very reason of just being different, and to be greedy as all hell...at least hide it form us...

EDIT: "busted micro USB"??? I need some facts to support this..
 
Spicedaddy

Spicedaddy

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Apr 18, 2002
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Phanuel said:
It'll be interesting to see what car manufacturers will have to do to maintain full compatibility with ipods/iphones and integrated speaker systems like the BMW idrive.
Click to expand...

They should put USB ports instead of dock/lightning... (I've had a nissan sentra and a suzuki kizashi rental that had them AFAIK)

Just ask your car salesman to include a lighning cable in your car payments since it's so expensive.
 
S

Spoooon

Lifer
Mar 3, 2000
11,563
203
106
Randum said:
This just does not surprise me. Remember their mini-audio plugs on their speakers? They had a guard on them so you couldnt plug them into a normal mini-plug?

They have always been about proprietary components. Sony does this as well (PS Vita cards...please...and the Sony SD cards...) but for whatever reason people react differently.

This is a representation of why I dislike Apple in general, being different for the very reason of just being different, and to be greedy as all hell...at least hide it form us...

EDIT: "busted micro USB"??? I need some facts to support this..
Click to expand...

I have an Apple keyboard that came with a USB extension cable. I ended up returning the first one because one of the keys would double-type every now and then. I kept the extension cable thinking it would come in handy. But of course, I couldn't use it. It had a little metal fold thing that prevented you from plugging in any other USB cable into it unless the cable had this notch cut out of it. I don't know if they do that for everything, are still doing it, or what.
 
T

TheStu

Moderator<br>Mobile Devices & Gadgets
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Sep 15, 2004
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Spoooon said:
I have an Apple keyboard that came with a USB extension cable. I ended up returning the first one because one of the keys would double-type every now and then. I kept the extension cable thinking it would come in handy. But of course, I couldn't use it. It had a little metal fold thing that prevented you from plugging in any other USB cable into it unless the cable had this notch cut out of it. I don't know if they do that for everything, are still doing it, or what.
Click to expand...

I think that mine is the same way. Never could figure out why they did that, it wasn't like it kept it more secure, or that they were using that for some sort of special fifth pin.
 
Oyeve

Oyeve

Lifer
Oct 18, 1999
22,071
885
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Spicedaddy said:
And BTW, microUSB durability sucks compared to the Lightning connector. How much will it cost to fix your busted microUSB plug on your 600$ phone?
Click to expand...
In my use of 1000s of musb cables and dozens of devices I have never ever broken a cable or a device. On the other hand, my limited apple stuff I have broken numerous 30pin cables, adapters, aux lines, earbuds. They make those cables like shit. And charge you a shit load of money to get a replacement.
 
luv2liv

luv2liv

Diamond Member
Dec 27, 2001
3,505
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Phanuel said:
It'll be interesting to see what car manufacturers will have to do to maintain full compatibility with ipods/iphones and integrated speaker systems like the BMW idrive.
Click to expand...

car manufacturers wouldnt care.
they will be more than happy to sell you a new car with lightning compatibility. and they'll have Apple to thank.
 
cheezy321

cheezy321

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Dec 31, 2003
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M

Mopetar

Diamond Member
Jan 31, 2011
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jpeyton said:
Besides, Apple changing the connector doesn't fix the underlying issue about their cables.

ipod-cable-530x440.jpg


It's interesting that I've never seen jacket separation like that with any of my microUSB cables, even the cheap 99-cent ones I order from China. It's almost as if Apple engineers their cables with an expiration date. Looks like the new Lightning cables are designed to break in the same manner.
Click to expand...

My guess is that because the 30-pin dock connector locks into the device it's more susceptible to such wear and tear. The USB cable will likely get pulled out of the device if too much force is put on it. Any cable that gets bent a lot without the ability to give will wear out over time.

Also, you're data set is based entirely on your own personal experience. I still have the cable from my first generation iPad and it hasn't had any problems. Should we conclude that they're obviously perfect? Without a meaningful set of data it's hard to conclude if this happens more with Apple cables or not.

Also, does Apple's new connector lock in place like the old 30-pin connector or will it naturally pull out more easily?
 
K

Kenmitch

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Oct 10, 1999
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