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Apple Starts Blocking Unauthorized Lightning Cables With iOS 7
beltsbear writes "Your formerly working clone Lightning cable could stop working with the latest iOS update. Previously the beta version allowed these cables to charge with a warning message but the final release actually stops many cables from working. Apples Lightning connector system is locked with authentication chips that can verify if a cable is authorized by Apple. Many users with clone cables are now without the ability to charge their iPhones."
The Ford Motor Company has reprogrammed all recent model Ford cars and light trucks to prevent them from being refueled from Texaco gas pumps. Film at eleven.
Well, I'm not surprised that there are knockoffs for the Apple chargers. And this thing with 'unauthorized' cables, I was laughing my head off the first time I heard it and I predicted that exactly this situation would occur.
They want ~$29 USD for their chargers and an "ordinary" charger with USB connector is ~$5 USD. Paying more than $20 extra just because it says Apple on it is just plain stupid and there are people out there that will try to cash in on it (besides Apple I mean).
My guess is that we will hear some whining from Apple-product owners now and it's essentially their own fault for 2 reasons:
1. They bought an Apple product.
2. They bought a third party peripheral for their Apple product.
There is no denying that Apple make good products but I would never buy one because of their walled garden and antics like this.
--- Reality doesn't care about your opinions, it happens anyway and if you are in the way you'll get squished.
You're adding emphasis wrong. And you completely misquoted the article!
First of all, the first sentence of the article says unambiguously:
Your quote comes from a couple lines down:
OK, inappropriate use of the phrase "the latter" but in context it's pretty clear. TFA says that Apple is currently blocking "unauthorized" cables, but despite this some unauthorized cables with "cracked chips" may still be working. Of course, since iOS 7 is blocking unauthorized cables it stands to reason that Apply will try to disable unauthorized cables that use "cracked chips".
Whether they will be able to do so is kinda irrelevant to the main thrust here which is that Apple used an operating system upgrade to lock out third party cable makers. Wont someone think of the poor airline stewardesses!
IMHO, this news is just piling on considering the fact that your iPhone uses a custom adapter that is incompatible with all other phones, costs 5 times as much as it should, and will be forced into obsolescence after a few generations.
It breaks my pluginses, my precious!