[Infowarrior] - Here’s the Chip Apple Is Using to Stop You from Buying Cheap Cables

[Richard Forno]

Here’s the Chip Apple Is Using to Stop You from Buying Cheap Cables

 Eric Limer

If you bought yourself an iPhone 5, and are looking for a cheap, third-party lightning adapter to save a couple of bucks, you might want to hold off. There's an authenticator chip in the official adapters, and third-party adapters probably won't work without it.

Peter from Double Helix Cables found the obnoxious little chip while dissecting one of the new, official Lighting cables. Positioned between the cord's USB contact and the power pin on the Lightning plug, the chip seems to be the key to keeping Lighting cables and adapters proprietary. These kind of authentication chips aren't uncommon in more sophisticated accessories, but this is the first time one has shown up in something as basic as a charging cable, smack in the middle of the power line. According the Peter, the chip doesn't block the data lines, but you need data and power to connect by USB. That could mean any number of things.

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http://gizmodo.com/5945889/some-third+party-adapters-might-not-work-with-your-new-iphone

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