Apple Now Shipping Lightning To 30-Pin Adapters

hcs_$reboot writes "Apple has started shipping the iPhone 5 Lightning connector to 30-pin adapters. Some iPhone 5 owners complained about its new connector being incompatible with the previously well known 30 pin connectors (iPhone 4S and before, iPod, iPad, and chargers). From the article: 'Apple's accessories page shows the adapter as available to ship in October, while one MacRumors reader said the e-mail notice pointed to a delivery day of October 9.'"

Comments

Lockin

[Mikkeles]

Well, that's one way to make money - gratuitous changes which you charge to fix.

Re:Lockin

[Sarten-X]

At first, I was annoyed at the new connector (though I doubt I'll have any need to use it for a while, and when I do, I have practically no accessories to replace). It seemed to be a remarkable waste of engineering for something that could have just been standardized.

Now that I know more about the connector, I'm genuinely hoping that Apple miraculously opens up to the world and Lightning becomes the new standard. It's reversible, adaptable, sturdy (at least it appears to be), and smaller than the 30-pin connector. iFixit had an interesting perspective (that I'm too lazy to look up) that the smaller connector allowed more components to fit in the bottom of the new and slimmer iPhone.

I like the idea of adaptable connectors. Not just where you ground a certain pin to toggle the function of another pin, but where the cable and device actively communicate to negotiate what features are available on what pins.

Since my dream of Apple playing nice with others is probably impossible, are there any other well-defined connectors (preferably without patents) out there that offer the same (or even similar) amounts of adaptability?

Ligntning is superior mechanically

[swb]

I own a bunch of micro-USB devices and I think that connector blows, at least mechanically. It's keyed, so it requires a specific orientation, and it's small so it's hard to differentiate the orientation, especially once presbyopia sets in.

The lightning connector has no specific orientation and I find it much easier to connect, especially in the dark.

The jury's out on whether or not there's any technical advantage to lightning over micro-USB as a connector or connector protocol. I'm in the camp that says 30 pin had to go and lightning is a welcome change, but even as an iPhone fan I'm not convinced there isn't some profit motive behind all of this, especially all the restrictions and apparent secrecy surrounding the device and adapters.

Mechanical improvement

[sjbe]

I'm $ure there'$ a perfectly good rea$on for them not to u$e a $tandard U$B connector format, but I can't for the life of me figure out what it i$. Anybody?

The real advantages to mini and micro-USB is that they are pretty much ubiquitous and relatively cheap - which are some big advantages. However the various USB connectors are kind of a crappy connectors from a mechanical standpoint. It is keyed in such a way that it isn't immediately obvious which way is the correct way to insert it without looking carefully or by trial and error. Also the mini and micro USB connectors themselves tend to be rather poorly made and need lots of external structural support. I've broken several and I'm not hard on my gear. My company manufactures some products that use them and IMO they aren't well designed mechanically. I don't love the lightning connector but from a pure mechanical design standpoint the lightning connector is better. Electrically and financially and socially I see no advantage to the new connector to most of us.