Apple Now Selling Lightning to Micro USB Adapter in the US

Remember folks:

• The chip in there cost Apple nothing to develop.

• Then, once developed, it costs nothing to make.

• And the chip only exists because Apple wants to kill third-party accessory companies. Teardowns showing dynamic pin capabilities and other future-proofing are lies.

• And USB is FULLY as high-tech and future-proof and durable and easy-to-use as Lightning is. And the old 30-pin connector is just as good too. too. Lightning has no current or future benefits, so we should still be using 10-year-old tech.

• And nobody wants thinner devices or easier, reversible connections anyway. Apple just likes to ram thin and light down our throats.

• And nobody but Apple marks up cables and accessories. All other companies sell at cost.

• And cheap unshielded bootleg accessories are just as good as Apple-certified ones.

• And third-party Lightning accessories have been late to arrive, which is just as bad as never arriving. Waiting for them is simply not possible.

• And a USB cable with this little thing kept permanently on the end is not portable. Only a single bare USB cable is.

• And the Lightning synch/charge cable included in the box with every iPhone and iPad somehow doesn’t already do what most people need from a cable.

Have I summed up the insanity? :)

this is so backwards.

Now THIS is something I can use. Too bad it'll probably cost between $20-30. Shouldn't be more than $5.

Hmmm... wow the $19 USB-Lightning adapter just became an excellent deal. This $0.50 adapter should be sold for $5-$10.

Now THIS is something I can use. Too bad it'll probably cost between $20-30. Shouldn't be more than $5.

You guessed incorrectly. It is $19.

Remember folks:

[summed up the insanity]

I agree, but Apple has gotten kind of stingy with the accessories. Since this is the first generation of devices with Lightning connectors there should at least be a 30-pin adapter in the box, I think that's fair.

Lightning is superior to µUSB. Lightning is superior to the 30 pin dock connector.

Is the 30 pin connector reversible? No.

Can you get video over µUSB? No.
Can you get analog audio over µUSB? No.
Is µUSB reversible? No.

Now. You can argue whether those line items are significant or not, but they are factual.

In practice, I find the reversibility of the lightning connector to be a huge win. It's relatively difficult to see which side of either the dock connector or the µUSB connector is which. It is, of course, a non-issue for Lightning.

A friend of mine is legally blind. He has found the Lightning connector to be a relative godsend.

None of this negates the points that have been made about Apple having such tight control over the accessories market, but those who argue that there are not real, credible advantages to Apple's connector are ignoring reality.

Remember folks:

...

Have I summed up the insanity? :)

To answer your question: Yes, beautifully.

My favorite examples of the insanity are:

- Samsung Galaxy Tab has a proprietary connector (which looks amazingly like Apple's 30-pin just so you might try to jam the wrong plug in there and break it) and their adapters are comparable in price to Apple's.

- Microsoft Surface RT has a "video out" port which is NOT micro or mini HDMI, but a proprietary connector and they sell an adapter for HDMI which runs $39 (comparable to Apple's pricing)

- Samsung Galaxy S3 has a micro-USB port, but not a standard one. They added a bunch of extra pins to it for HDMI over USB support and it requires their proprietary-USB to HDMI adapter to function properly.

- When Motorola Xoom shipped it had "mini HDMI" (not today's micro HDMI) and micro USB (the beloved standard), and..... a proprietary charging port because USB could not provide enough power for it.

- A while back "mini USB" was the standard and it lasted all of 2.5 years before it was overtaken by "micro USB" so folks could be "thinner and lighter". However, due to several manufacturers (including Samsung) making custom micro-USB compatible plugs, it is likely we will see micro-USB fade out and get replaced by another "standard" and thus obsolete all the micro USB stuff anyway.

But Apple is the only one who makes non-standard proprietary ports and they are the only ones who switch the connectors on customers and make them purchase new adapters. The 30-pin connector out-lasted any port used on a mobile device that I can think of. I am betting Lightning will last just as long. What other "standard" port on a mobile device can claim a decade of not being replaced? Meanwhile other manufacturers have gone from USB to mini USB to micro USB and from HDMI to mini HDMI to micro HDMI and all the while mixing in their own proprietary ports when it served their purposes.

Lightning connectors are such a non-issue and folks try to pretend its a big deal. If it is a big deal it is because Apple is the only company that maintained the same port for a long time. Nobody else ever gave you a chance to get accustomed to your ports on your mobile devices. Apple developed Lightning so they can manage to keep the same port for another decade and build out yet another third-party accessory ecosystem.

In summary -- I loved your comment.

Which means there is absolutely no reason for a proprietary cable. It's not faster, its not smaller than existing tech. All it does is allow it to be plugged in either way. I'd rather see Apple finally adopt an existing standard that works perfectly so I can spend $19 on other stuff like the 38th version of Angry Birds.

*walks up to a kid in a blue shirt with $19 for check out*

You summed it up in a nutshell. What it DOES allow for is for apple to have greater control over accessories (a benefit for Apple, not te user).

To all those stating that it was time for change, I won't argue that the old connector was getting long on the tooth. I will still question why they didn't adopt current tech which, with the exception of a reversible plug, can do everything that lightning can. But wait. I can answer my own question. Developing a new plug and collecting 100% of sales is likely more profitable, in the long run, than licensing out micro USB. If you think this was done with the consumer being first, second, or third in mind, you are wrong.

So remind me again why Apple doesn't just use the standard micro usb in the first place? Is it so they can rip off their loyal customers even more by selling them overpriced adapters?

Folks, the PRIMARY advantage that Apple's cables, whether new or old, provide is driverless communication and control with host devices. This means that a $50 clock radio can not only charge, but be integrated with the iOS device for audio and control. Micro-USB requires both drivers on the host device AND a chip to handle them. This is expensive and not reliable. This alone is why Apple has a proprietary connection and why there is a huge aftermarket for iOS devices and almost none for Android.

Remember folks:

• The chip in there cost Apple nothing to develop.

• Then, once developed, it costs nothing to make.

• And the chip only exists because Apple wants to kill third-party accessory companies. Teardowns showing dynamic pin capabilities and other future-proofing are lies.

• And USB is FULLY as high-tech and future-proof and durable and easy-to-use as Lightning is. And the old 30-pin connector is just as good too. too. Lightning has no current or future benefits, so we should still be using 10-year-old tech.

• And nobody wants thinner devices or easier, reversible connections anyway. Apple just likes to ram thin and light down our throats.

• And nobody but Apple marks up cables and accessories. All other companies sell at cost.

• And cheap unshielded bootleg accessories are just as good as Apple-certified ones.

• And third-party Lightning accessories have been late to arrive, which is just as bad as never arriving. Waiting for them is simply not possible.

• And a USB cable with this little thing kept permanently on the end is not portable. Only a single bare USB cable is.

• And the Lightning synch/charge cable included in the box with every iPhone and iPad somehow doesn’t already do what most people need from a cable.

Have I summed up the insanity? :)

Do you honestly assume that everyone shares your points of view?

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On the upside, you could pick your USB cable length and get it at a decent price.