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+--- Thread: Lightning cables revisited -- is MFi certification enough... (/showthread.php?tid=161311)
Lightning cables revisited -- is MFi certification enough... - Bimwad - 12-08-2013
to placate iOS 7?
I need a 6'er and $13 for a Macally (at Fry's this week) is more attractive than the $29 Apple piece.
Wasn't sure whether the nagging brought on by iOS 7 affected just the generic knockoffs, or legit MFi cables as well.
And hey Larry, when are the OWC cables going to appear?
Re: Lightning cables revisited -- is MFi certification enough... - DavidS - 12-08-2013
Bimwad wrote:
to placate iOS 7?
I need a 6'er and $13 for a Macally (at Fry's this week) is more attractive than the $29 Apple piece.
Wasn't sure whether the nagging brought on by iOS 7 affected just the generic knockoffs, or legit MFi cables as well.
And hey Larry, when are the OWC cables going to appear?
This was a pretty good deal from OWC on Apple cables.
http://forums.macresource.com/read.php?1,1647363,1647363#msg-1647363
Re: Lightning cables revisited -- is MFi certification enough... - Bimwad - 12-08-2013
Yep, I saw that, but those are 1M/~3'.
Re: Lightning cables revisited -- is MFi certification enough... - OWC Jamie - 12-08-2013
MfI is required for authentication chip purchase. But not all cables are created equal.... I can tell you from personal experience with our own products that you only get as good of a cable as what you put into it. And not all companies are looking to make a long-lasting product.
So.... if the cable is MfI certified from a reputable manufacturer, it should be perfectly fine. but the quality needs to be inspected to know how the cable feels, will hold up over time, and also the size of the Lightning connector. There are a number of different sizes out there and Apple restricts the size - nobody can use one as small as Apple's which seems to be pretty unfair....
Re: Lightning cables revisited -- is MFi certification enough... - space-time - 12-08-2013
OWC Jamie wrote:
... and also the size of the Lightning connector. There are a number of different sizes out there and Apple restricts the size - nobody can use one as small as Apple's which seems to be pretty unfair....
How can that be legal?
Re: Lightning cables revisited -- is MFi certification enough... - OWC Larry - 12-08-2013
Apple owns the patent on the connector and what use they allow is within their legal domain. FWIW - we have some great quality Lightning cables in multiple colors and lengths that will be online available in about 10 days. And these are built with better strain relief that even Apple's we do believe... built to last.
As for MFi - as long as it is genuine MFi certified (and no issue with MacAlly) vs. a knockoff using/claiming, you should have no issues ever in terms of operational compatibility.
Re: Lightning cables revisited -- is MFi certification enough... - Bimwad - 12-09-2013
Thanks Jamie and Larry. Looking forward to the OWC cables.
I was wondering why only the Apple cable had the small connector housing...as such a simple thing, it seems less defensible than the "rounded rectangle" phone patent. They've already gone to the trouble to put hardware DRM on Lightning, so they should at least allow some leeway in terms of the physical characteristics.
Bad Apple.
Re: Lightning cables revisited -- is MFi certification enough... - RAMd®d - 12-09-2013
and also the size of the Lightning connector. There are a number of different sizes out there and Apple restricts the size - nobody can use one as small as Apple's which seems to be pretty unfair....
Fortunately this can be mitigated by the choice of case. I've got an Amazon Basic cable (I think) with a slightly larger connector and it fits just fine in my NuGuard cases for my 5s and miniPadR.
I'm also in the market for some longer cables...