Apple's Lightning authentication chip may have been reverse engineered
An unauthorized accessory maker has promised that products cloning Apple's new Lightning cable are on their way, thanks to reverse engineering.
New Lightning cables and accessories from iPhone5Mod, including a light-up cable and docking station, were highlighted on Tuesday by MIC Gadget. The unauthorized reseller claims that its new cable "fully supports iTunes, Data Sync, Battery Charging for iPhone 5 and even supports all future iOS upgrades."
The site even has a video promoting its new light-up cable and docking station, showing them being used to charge and sync an iPhone 5 plugged into a MacBook.
AppleInsider was first to report last month that presumed authentication chips were found inside of Apple's new Lightning connector. The discovery of the chips was seen as a warning to customers not to buy unauthorized third-party accessories, as they were not likely to be compatible with the iPhone 5 and other Lightning devices.
In fact, Chinese suppliers were said to be still working on cloning the chips found in Apple's Lightning cable, but it wasn't expected that compatible unauthorized devices would become available for sale for months at the earliest.
However, the video and information posted online on Tuesday suggests that at least one company was able to reverse engineer Apple's new Lightning cable faster than was expected.
Some unauthorized third-party Lightning devices quickly appeared on sites like Amazon and resellers like Alibaba.com after the iPhone 5 and Lightning connector were announced. But estimated shipping dates were progressively pushed back s companies were not able to create their own knock-off Lightning accessories.
Official Lightning accessories sanctioned by Apple are expected to hit store shelves this holiday season. Devices have been delayed from hitting the market because Apple is said to have made "significant changes" to its "Made for iPhone" accessory rules.
The new Lightning cable is 80 percent smaller than its predecessor, allowing Apple to make its devices even smaller than ever. It also dynamically reassigns its pins to allow the cable to be inserted into devices like the iPhone 5 in either of two orientations.
New Lightning cables and accessories from iPhone5Mod, including a light-up cable and docking station, were highlighted on Tuesday by MIC Gadget. The unauthorized reseller claims that its new cable "fully supports iTunes, Data Sync, Battery Charging for iPhone 5 and even supports all future iOS upgrades."
The site even has a video promoting its new light-up cable and docking station, showing them being used to charge and sync an iPhone 5 plugged into a MacBook.
AppleInsider was first to report last month that presumed authentication chips were found inside of Apple's new Lightning connector. The discovery of the chips was seen as a warning to customers not to buy unauthorized third-party accessories, as they were not likely to be compatible with the iPhone 5 and other Lightning devices.
In fact, Chinese suppliers were said to be still working on cloning the chips found in Apple's Lightning cable, but it wasn't expected that compatible unauthorized devices would become available for sale for months at the earliest.
However, the video and information posted online on Tuesday suggests that at least one company was able to reverse engineer Apple's new Lightning cable faster than was expected.
Some unauthorized third-party Lightning devices quickly appeared on sites like Amazon and resellers like Alibaba.com after the iPhone 5 and Lightning connector were announced. But estimated shipping dates were progressively pushed back s companies were not able to create their own knock-off Lightning accessories.
Official Lightning accessories sanctioned by Apple are expected to hit store shelves this holiday season. Devices have been delayed from hitting the market because Apple is said to have made "significant changes" to its "Made for iPhone" accessory rules.
The new Lightning cable is 80 percent smaller than its predecessor, allowing Apple to make its devices even smaller than ever. It also dynamically reassigns its pins to allow the cable to be inserted into devices like the iPhone 5 in either of two orientations.
Comments
Surely Apple would seek an import ban on such products.
http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/reviews/entry/apple-lightning-to-30-pin-adapter/
Now somebody TEAR THIS THING DOWN ALREADY!!!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mac_128
ILounge has already received theirs and verified its functionality ...
You mean they have received the Apple adapter, not the reverse engineered chip (this article).
Surely everyone knows that the connector would be replicated sometime soon... it's not like making a key to the White House you know!
The only problem I have is that some freetard will think a $3 chinese-knockoff Lightning adapter will function exactly the same as the Apple-stamped version, then proceed to fry their iDevice, then casually take their iDevice back to Apple, play stupid (they're naturally that way anyways) and say "I dunno, I just plugged it in and it caught fire! WTF Apple"!!!!
So what will we once again hear from the whiners?
Damn Apple!!! Your adapters are gouging customers!!!
Damn Apple!! Your expensive iDevice won't work with my $3 accessory that was deliberately "cracked" so I can save a few bucks!! Damn you Apple!!
Not one sliver of a second will be allocated by the user to ponder the thought: "Hmm... perhaps I was stupid for going the cheap route and blaming Apple?"
Not one second... watch...
Good for them! Screw Apple and their overpriced cables. They're overpriced almost as bad as the Monster cables.
Could be a publicity stunt. Perhaps they started out with a real Apple cable which means the chip is real.
They get some news hits while in reality they are still trying to crack the code.
“presumed authentication chips"
Presumed with evidence?
Lightning NEEDS a chip to function since it actively re-routes signals and power as needed. It’s a long-term, flexible, modern solution.
But I have seen ZERO evidence that there is some kind of additional “authentication” or anti-cloning going on. The very existence of a chip is NOT evidence since we already know a chip is needed no matter what.
Subtract what seem to be entirely made-up claims and it looks like Apple simply has new rules for the “Made for iPhone” logo program. NOT that they have added “authentication” hardware to make companies join that program. Have I missed any evidence? Let me know and I’ll reverse my statements if so!
And if I’m right, then third-pery products (both with and without Apple's official stamp of approval) were only a matter of time, same as they always have been.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sflocal
The only problem I have is that some freetard will think a $3 chinese-knockoff Lightning adapter will function exactly the same as the Apple-stamped version, then proceed to fry their iDevice, then casually take their iDevice back to Apple, play stupid (they're naturally that way anyways) and say "I dunno, I just plugged it in and it caught fire! WTF Apple"!!!!
So what will we once again hear from the whiners?
Damn Apple!!! Your adapters are gouging customers!!!
Damn Apple!! Your expensive iDevice won't work with my $3 accessory that was deliberately "cracked" so I can save a few bucks!! Damn you Apple!!
Not one sliver of a second will be allocated by the user to ponder the thought: "Hmm... perhaps I was stupid for going the cheap route and blaming Apple?"
Not one second... watch...
You are aware that the Apple-stamped cables are $3 cables made in China?
Quote:
Originally Posted by sflocal
So what will we once again hear from the whiners?
Damn Apple!!! Your adapters are gouging customers!!!
Damn Apple!! Your expensive iDevice won't work with my $3 accessory that was deliberately "cracked" so I can save a few bucks!! Damn you Apple!!
Not one sliver of a second will be allocated by the user to ponder the thought: "Hmm... perhaps I was stupid for going the cheap route and blaming Apple?"
Not one second... watch...
8 minutes.
In other articles reporting this story it's also mentioned that the Chinese vendor had been using "official" authentication chips from the same supplier Apple is using. Frankly I thought that a bit surprising,
Originally Posted by Freshmaker
Good for them! Screw Apple and their overpriced cables. They're overpriced almost as bad as the Monster cables.
Right, the overpriced cables that… can't be bought from anyone else.
"Screw Apple and their overpriced computers! I'll just go buy something running OS X from some… other… manu…"
There is a lot of engineering behind this, so that we can have such a nice small connector, make it reversible, make it so that it doesn't lose functionality when compared to the 30 pin monster, make it future proof, and the phones can use the saved space for things like a bigger battery. This amount of effort on something most companies don't even think about is what makes Apple products special.
But still, this article calls it an "authentication" chip.
Quote:
Originally Posted by wizard69
Interesting, however I have to wonder if Apple doesn't have it's own interest in seeing the clones succeed. It just doesn't seem like Apple was or is being extremely protective of the technology. At least they haven't said anything publiclly about patents or taking an agressive stance against cable makers.
Protective? Of a cable? Apple is not Monster Cable.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SpamSandwich
Surely Apple would seek an import ban on such products.
If they created something and violated some patents, they might ask for some royalties. I don't know if they would ban this product. It's kind of cool. Maybe if you ask nicely maybe Apple stores would sell them in their own stores if the company was doing so under proper authority. Apple does stock and sell third party cables, you know.
As to those whining about Apple making money on their products, it's a free market. Go buy Android crap if you want to. Maybe if you had ever created anything of value in your life you might respect the wish of an inventor to profit from his invention.