Connector lightning on the cable. Apple's new Lightning interface

original cable apple lightning usb has a Lightning connector - this is a proprietary development of Apple Ink. The connector was released in September 2012 and this was done to replace its previous 30-pin connector. The original goal of releasing a new connector is to reduce the amount of space it takes up on new devices. The Apple Lightning connector is much smaller than the previous connector and can be inserted in either direction. Its dimensions are 6.7 mm by 1.5 mm The new connector had only 8 pins and was designed to connect mobile devices such as iPhone 5, iPod touch 5g or iPad mini to a computer. Unfortunately, the new connector is not backward compatible.

Apple lightning cable pinout

• 1 pin GND Ground
• 2 pin L0p Line 0+
• 3 L0n Line 0-
• 4 ID0 identifier /control 0
• 5 PWR charging
• 6 L1n Line 1-
• 7 L1p Line 1+
• 8 ID1 identifier /control 1

Apple's lightning cable pinout is adaptive. The built-in microcircuit determines which side the cable is connected to and switches accordingly to the desired contact.

What is the uniqueness of the lightning 8 pin connector

The apple lightning usb cable has pioneered cables that can be plugged in on both sides. After that, many cables began to have reversible connectors, for example, USB Type-C.
Apple also included an authentication chip in all its lightning 8 pin cables, which the Chinese eventually successfully learned how to make. All cables manufactured by Apple and manufacturers that have received a certificate from the apple company are registered and entered into the database. Every iPhone has access to this database. In the beginning, this was a big problem for Chinese manufacturers of Apple accessories. Almost all Chinese cables were of dubious quality and after a couple of connections they gave an error about incompatibility or lack of support for the accessory. But Chinese manufacturers did not stand still and improved production. That is why modern cables no longer produce such errors, although they do not have an MFI certificate.

Which are openly called competitors to the iPhone 8 and, the device manufacturer, Google, began selling an adapter with USB Type-C to 3.5 mm, since the new products lack the usual audio jack. Now this is a common practice, only the search giant asked for as much as $ 20 for its adapter.

Almost 50,000 rubles will have to be paid for a set of 18 adapters for Apple devices, presented in the assortment of the Russian online store, the site calculated. When making calculations, only the retail price of branded accessories produced by Apple itself and available for purchase at the moment was taken into account.

Having worked in the consumer electronics industry for a long time, Apple was able to discover another source of user annoyance. Connecting charging cables in the dark is not an easy process, especially if the mobile device is completely discharged and its screen is not capable of performing the function of a flashlight. Looks like they've decided to end this problem once and for all.

I wish the new iPhones were already out. It will be possible to stop wondering what they will look like and what Apple will or will not equip its devices with. There are a lot of rumors. They also talked about the transition to a USB Type-C connector, and about the disappearance, which the company gives to customers bundled with the iPhone 7 and. Analysts from Barclays believe that in this regard, everything will remain in place.

Many tend to want to order from the US rather than overpay local stores for their crazy markups. However, sometimes it turns out that delivery from another country is too expensive, and it turns out that buying this or that product in Russia is cheaper than ordering it anywhere. But this rule does not always work, and if the package is completely lighter than a kilogram (the same iPhone or), its delivery will be quite inexpensive.

Not so long ago, the Wall Street Journal published. According to them, the new iPhone, which will be presented by the company this year, will surprise us with the appearance of a USB-C connector, which will replace the Lightning connector. It's hard to believe, but you can't ignore the credibility of the Wall Street Journal and their sources. However, there were those who are ready to doubt all this.

Yesterday, many analysts, citing their own sources, began to assert that Apple will abandon Lightning in the new iPhone. The news immediately caused a wide resonance, since Lightning accessories have just begun to appear on the market, and the new ones are no exception. There is probably a plan for that as well.

We know quite a lot about Apple's future smartphone, but we haven't heard anything like it yet. The authoritative Wall Street Journal believes that instead of the Lightning connector, a USB-C connector will appear. It's hard to believe, but the Wall Street Journal rarely writes about something they're not sure about. USB-C is actively used by Apple in MacBooks, but has not previously appeared in the company's portable devices.

One of the most discussed questions about the new iPhone right now is how the smartphone will charge. And it's not about (we seem to have already come to terms with this), but about the type of connector, which will be responsible for this functionality. Yes, we are talking about -C now.

I think you should not talk about the company's strange attitude towards connectors. On the one hand, Apple likes USB Type-C connectors, and the company has put a lot of effort into improving this standard. On the other hand, the company uses its own Lightning connector in its portable devices. One can only guess why Apple came to a single standard, but it is worth noting that the company's decisions are difficult.

Apple's official technical support website has been supplemented with a warning about the dangers of using counterfeit components and accessories. According to company representatives, more than 90% of retail products marked "Made for iPhone" are produced by artisanal methods and are unsafe for both the connected device and its owner. Be vigilant, call us to .

A new connector standard called Lightning (from English - lightning) appeared with the release of new devices Apple iPhone 5, iPod Touch 5G, iPod nano7G, iPad 4 and iPad mini. This cable came out of the bowels of the company Double Helix Cables and it has a built-in authentication chip. There are no specifications for this cable, and one can only guess about the principle of operation. It is known that from the 30-pin old Lightning connector it has lost weight to 8, but some sources claim that 9, taking into account the metal base of the contacts. It is completely digital and the chip in the cable itself determines what is connected at the moment, be it a media dock, Charger or some other device. The connector has eight pins on each side and does not have a mechanical key, which means that it can be inserted in any position and it is not impossible to break it by trying to insert it with the wrong side forcibly. Apple called this advantage of the cable - reversibility.

For this, it would seem that the task is solved simply: electrically connect the contacts on the two sides of the plug crosswise, but not everything is so simple. The specialists, having “ringed” the connector, found out that the contacts on the upper and lower parts of the plug do not have paired contacts, which means the plug cannot be turned over without changing the wiring diagram. This paradox can only be explained in one way: the interface dynamically assigns pins depending on which orientation the connector is shorted in. It becomes clear that this is not the usual "camouflaged USB". It is the dynamic pin assignment and cable communication with the device that gives us what Apple calls adaptive interface. In principle, as soon as the gadget and the switching chip have agreed on the appointment of contacts, anything can be transmitted over them. At the moment, the Lightning cable uses USB 2.0, but in the future nothing will stop it from using USB 3.0, FireWire or even Thunderbolt, putting more complex logic in the cable.

The first fruits of adaptability may appear soon. Some sites have published information that adapters for Lightning to VGA and DisplayPort will be released in the coming months. VGA requires 15 pins, and DisplayPort requires 20, so for this reason alone, a transmitter of the appropriate interface must already be in the cable.

Why did Apple need a new interface when there is a public USB. Lightning and Micro USB 2.0 connectors are about the same size, but Lightning looks stronger and more reliable. Often the MicroUSB socket is broken due to the wrong location of the connector.

And one more important point. It is logical to assume that when connected to a simple charger, several Lightning contacts can be used for power at once, let's say data contacts, which potentially allows you to use more powerful blocks for fast battery charging, tk. the higher the charging current, the faster the process. For the USB 2.0 interface, the maximum current per port is 500 mA, for USB 3.0 - 900 mA. And, for example, the proprietary charger of the third iPad has a power of 10 W, which already gives a theoretical current of 2 A at a standard USB voltage of 5 V, and a 12-watt “charger” is supplied with the fourth iPad. So USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 cannot provide the power required to quickly charge tablets with such a large battery. As for MicroUSB 3.0, it is "fast", but bulky and no longer reliable connector than MicroUSB2.0. Lightning is ready to provide support for USB 3.0 and any other data transfer interface as soon as such a need arises.

Lightning also outperforms a number of solutions that provide video stream output using specialized HDMI and DisplayPort transmitters. Apple's approach allows you to offload the gadget from transmitter chips by embedding them in cables. As a result, we again get save space on the board and power consumption. As well as reducing the price of the device for those who do not need a video output. In addition, Lightning eliminates the additional headache of which connector to output the video stream through. The Mini HDMI option is not only at odds with the minimalistic design of Apple gadgets, but also - again and again - requires additional space, despite the fact that it is useful to an absolute minority.

This is actually a very sensible and far-sighted decision that may eventually become a trend: to separate the mechanical form factor of the connector and the switching of pins from a particular bus. An adaptive interface and smart cables are the best way to reduce the volume of components and power consumption of a mobile device, providing rich functionality and potential for development for years to come.

Apple has released a special adapter from the Lighting connector in the iPhone 5 to the familiar micro-USB format. The fact is that last year the European Union passed a law according to which every phone must support this standard.

As well as an adapter for your old 30-pin connector.

As you know, Apple's charging issues have always been popular, and this time it's time to talk about the charging connector for all iPhones.

Although not often, they change. Some people do not know what exactly awaits them when buying a new gadget from Apple. Let's figure it out.

What is the name of the iPhone charger?

Apple has always been in step with the times, so only the latest connectors can be seen on their gadgets, including the charging connector.

• The first type of connector is called Apple 30pin very successful, but not very long lived. It could transmit several analog signals and was inserted strictly on one side.
• Next came Lightning, which is already an 8-pin connector, is more compact and can only carry a digital signal. It can also be inserted on either side, which is its main advantage.

We learned what connectors exist and now I propose to figure out which devices can be attributed to each of them. Let's start.

Charging connector for iPhone 3, 3GS, 4, 4S

This entire list belongs to the 30-pin connector or Apple 30 pin. The iPhone charged quickly enough and there were no problems with this.



But, we all like to do things quickly and very often we had to look at the cable in order to understand which side to insert the cable into. It was a little annoying, but everyone got used to it and everything was fine.

Another problem appeared when the transition to the next view began. After all, forgetting your cable, you simply could not charge your phone.

Charging connector for iPhone 5, 5S, 5C, 6, 6S, 6 PLUS, 6S PLUS, SE, 7, 7 PLUS

As you can see, here the list is already much larger and naturally, they are all charged using the Lightning connector. He fell in love with everyone as soon as he appeared.



Inserting the cable in any direction into your iPhone is just bliss. After all, it does not take much time and you do not need to check anything.

Today, this connector has another function - now it is also a headphone jack. Starting with the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 PLUS, 3.5 Jack simply doesn't exist anymore.

conclusions

I think the Lightning connector will be in all Apple devices for a long time. After all, it was made to last long enough and so far, it is used in a fairly large number of iPhones.

Technologies are developing and it is possible that very soon there will be no cables and connectors at all. Everything will happen wirelessly and it will be damn convenient. We will follow the development.

What is the new connector Lightning?

Released at a press conference dedicated to the iPhone 5 and a representative of the 2012 model range, a proprietary connector Lightning replaces the 30-pin connector found on iPhone, iPad and iPod since 2003. Like the 30-pin connector, the connector Lightning used to charge the device, as well as synchronize content and data, audio and video products. New devices come with a USB 2.0 to Lightning.

How is it different from a 30-pin connector?

It's 80 percent smaller, stronger, and reversible, so you don't have to worry about which side is up or down when plugging in. Apple also claims that it is a fully digital, eight-signal design that adapts to whatever device is connected through it.

What products will it be used with?

Lightning connector used for iPhone 5, iPod Touch fifth generation, iPod Nano seventh generation. Since it is part of a connection strategy along with Thunderbolt, this will be a connector for products i OS for the foreseeable future, so it is expected to see it on iPad fourth generation and other future devices.

Does this mean I can't use any of my old accessories to connect to my new iPhone and players?

You won't be able to directly connect to anything that has a 30-pin connector. However, there are adapters that convert a 30-pin connector to a connector Lightning . Through this adapter, you will get support for analog audio output, USB audio, as well as sync and charge. (According to Macworld, there is also a digital-to-analog converter for the adapter.)

The adapter does not support video outputs, and not all 30-pin devices, so you will still have to buy new accessories to use with iPhone 5 and 2012 players. Another feature iPod Out, provided by certain devices, such as car stereos that navigate your music collection, which are also not supported. The adapter is quite large, so accessories plugged into the device probably won't work.

Apple will also sell HDMI and VGA adapters for Lightning . Micro-USB adapter for Lightning will be available in Europe. And you can of course count on a full range of third party adapters.

Are there any accessories I can buy so I can always count on them?

There will always be accessories that require the use of a connector, and no one can ever guarantee anything 100 percent in the future. However, as Senior Vice President Apple Phil Schiller, presenting Lightning , much of what we now use is wireless. Whenever we connect something, we can also use Apple's Bluetooth or AirPlay. Keep in mind that the 30-pin connector has been in use for almost a decade, so there's a good chance you'll have peace of mind for the next few years using Lightning.