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

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.

iMac Cables StellaFudgeImage 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.

Related Roundup: iMac
Buyer's Guide: iMac (Caution)
Related Forum: iMac

Popular Stories

iphone 17 models

No iPhone 18 Launch This Year, Reports Suggest

Thursday January 1, 2026 8:43 am PST by
Apple is not expected to release a standard iPhone 18 model this year, according to a growing number of reports that suggest the company is planning a significant change to its long-standing annual iPhone launch cycle. Despite the immense success of the iPhone 17 in 2025, the iPhone 18 is not expected to arrive until the spring of 2027, leaving the iPhone 17 in the lineup as the latest...
duolingo ad live activity

Duolingo Used iPhone's Dynamic Island to Display Ads, Violating Apple Design Guidelines

Friday January 2, 2026 1:36 pm PST by
Language learning app Duolingo has apparently been using the iPhone's Live Activity feature to display ads on the Lock Screen and the Dynamic Island, which violates Apple's design guidelines. According to multiple reports on Reddit, the Duolingo app has been displaying an ad for a "Super offer," which is Duolingo's paid subscription option. Apple's guidelines for Live Activity state that...
Low Cost A18 Pro MacBook Feature Pink

Apple's 2026 Low-Cost A18 Pro MacBook: What We Know So Far

Friday January 2, 2026 4:33 pm PST by
Apple is planning to release a low-cost MacBook in 2026, which will apparently compete with more affordable Chromebooks and Windows PCs. Apple's most affordable Mac right now is the $999 MacBook Air, and the upcoming low-cost MacBook is expected to be cheaper. Here's what we know about the low-cost MacBook so far. Size Rumors suggest the low-cost MacBook will have a display that's around 13 ...
govee floor lamp

CES 2026: Govee Announces New Matter-Connected Ceiling and Floor Lights

Sunday January 4, 2026 5:00 am PST by
Govee today introduced three new HomeKit-compatible lighting products, including the Govee Floor Lamp 3, the Govee Ceiling Light Ultra, and the Govee Sky Ceiling Light. The Govee Floor Lamp 3 is the successor to the Floor Lamp 2, and it offers Matter integration with the option to connect to HomeKit. The Floor Lamp 3 offers an upgraded LuminBlend+ lighting system that can reproduce 281...
airpods pro 3 glitter

AirPods New Year's Deals Include Up to $99 Off AirPods Max, AirPods Pro 3, and AirPods 4

Sunday January 4, 2026 8:04 am PST by
Now that the calendar has flipped over into January, steep discounts on popular Apple products have become more rare after the holidays. However, if you didn't get a new pair of AirPods recently and are looking for a model on sale, Amazon does have a few solid second-best prices this week. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a...
Belkin 25W Battery magnetic

CES 2026: Belkin Announces Magnetic Ring Power Bank, Modular Dock, and More

Sunday January 4, 2026 3:02 pm PST by
Belkin today announced a range of new charging and connectivity accessories at CES 2026, expanding its portfolio of products aimed at Apple device users. UltraCharge Pro Power Bank 10K with Magnetic Ring The lineup includes new Qi2 and Qi2.2 wireless chargers, magnetic power banks, a high-capacity laptop battery, and USB-C productivity accessories, with an emphasis on higher charging...
Low Cost MacBook Feature A18 Pro

Low-Price 12.9-Inch MacBook With A18 Pro Chip Reportedly Launching Early This Year

Friday January 2, 2026 9:08 am PST by
Apple plans to introduce a 12.9-inch MacBook in spring 2026, according to TrendForce. In a press release this week, the Taiwanese research firm said this MacBook will be aimed at the entry-level to mid-range market, with "competitive pricing." TrendForce did not share any further details about this MacBook, but the information that it shared lines up with several rumors about a more...
m4 macbook air blue 2

iPadOS and macOS 26.2 Double 5GHz Wi-Fi Bandwidth for Wi-Fi 6E Devices

Monday January 5, 2026 1:57 pm PST by
With the release of iPadOS 26.2 and macOS Tahoe 26.2, Apple has improved the Wi-Fi speeds for select Macs and iPads that support Wi-Fi 6E. Updated Wi-Fi connectivity specifications are listed in Apple's platform deployment guide. The M4 iPad Pro models, M3 iPad Air models, A17 Pro iPad mini, M2 to M5 MacBook Pro models, M2, M3, and M4 MacBook Air models, and other Wi-Fi 6E Macs and iPads now ...

Top Rated Comments

FSMBP Avatar
16 months ago
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.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
tomtad Avatar
16 months ago
Can we ban the word colourways

Thanks
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
decafjava Avatar
16 months ago
Another Frieren ('https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frieren') fan I see. Regarding the cables I like the colours!
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
coffeemilktea Avatar
16 months ago
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.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
SeaFox Avatar
16 months ago

Another Frieren ('https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/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).
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Stella_Fudge Avatar
16 months ago
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



Attachment Image

Attachment Image

Attachment Image

Attachment Image

Attachment Image

Attachment Image

Attachment Image

Attachment Image

Attachment Image
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)