Apple requires Lightning accessory makers to meet supplier code of conduct

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
Apple's annual "MFi" conference is currently underway in Shenzhen, China, where the company has informed third-party accessory makers that they will need to meet its supplier code of conduct to sell officially licensed products.

Devices certified as "Made for iPhone," or iPad and iPod, will only be able to come from companies that adhere to the code of conduct, according to TUAW. The full Apple Supplier Code of Conduct document is available at Apple's website.

Prior to this week's announcement, the code of conduct only applied to Apple's supply chain partners and component vendors. But under the new rules, all official members of Apple's licensed accessory ecosystem will be expected to adhere to stricter rules for worker rights and environmental issues.

Author Michael Rose noted that it's currently unknown what Apple's audit requirements will be, as well as penalties for noncompliance with the rules.

Details from the "MFi" conference also revealed that Apple's new Lightning connector, found on the iPhone 5 and iPad mini among other devices, is waterproof.

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The third-party accessory market for the Lightning connector is currently lacking, because authorized vendors have been waiting for this week's conference so they can obtain certification from Apple.

The first authorized accessory maker to announce Lightning-compatible products is Belkin, which revealed a new car charger and dock this week. The accessories are available for preorder now, and are scheduled to ship by Nov. 15.

Though Lightning cables include an authentication chip that may cut down on unauthorized accessories, the technology has been reverse engineered by some companies in China that have begun making unofficial Lightning cables. One cable detailed by AppleInsider last week was found to be compatible with Lightning devices, though it achieved a low price with poor shielding and cheap parts.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 17


    What!! No longer can I buy from back-alley under-lit sweat shops comprised of rag-dressed children working 14-hour shifts??? 


     


    But, that's how this country was made! It's the American way...!

  • Reply 2 of 17


    I applaud Apple's efforts, but still feel cheap cables will be abound in a few months all over anyway. 

  • Reply 3 of 17
    anonymouseanonymouse Posts: 6,857member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by thataveragejoe View Post


    I applaud Apple's efforts, but still feel cheap cables will be abound in a few months all over anyway. 



     


    Cheap as in junk, yes. I don't think Apple is asking people to license the tech involved for financial gain, but simply to be able to exercise some level of quality control on stuff that people plug their iDevices into, which is a good thing. Manufacturers who haven't licensed the tech, who are making reverse engineered knockoffs, Apple can likely have their products banned and pulled, which is also a good thing because these manufacturers probably don't have any commitment to product quality but are just trying to make a quick buck with the cheapest crap they can knock out.

  • Reply 4 of 17
    rbryanhrbryanh Posts: 263member
    The Apple Supplier Code of Conduct is a great opportunity for an in-depth, thought-provoking editorial about Apple, corporatism, government, and the responsibilities of consumers. I'd love to read it.

    Journalism consists of reporting the information that doesn't appear in companies' press releases, and analyses they don't don't want made of that which does.

    "The rest is advertising." And don't we all see enough advertising?
  • Reply 5 of 17
    rokradrokrad Posts: 143member


    I really wonder when Apple will release a Lightning to Thunderbolt connector...


     


    I've been thinking about this and it makes perfect sense to release them. They don't have to be standard since most PC's don't have Thunderbolt but still I would really like faster transfer times. I don't know they could always call it Storm Connector or something like that...

  • Reply 6 of 17


    Originally Posted by Rokrad View Post

    …I would really like faster transfer times.


     


    The NAND memory in iDevices prevents that. It won't go any faster.

  • Reply 7 of 17
    The NAND memory in iDevices prevents that. It won't go any faster.

    That's incredibly short-sighted for a connector that's supposed to last ten years.

    Not even USB3? Syncing takes so long it's just sad. As an aside, backing up all apps and iBooks takes a great deal of space on the mac with little benefit. Photos, music; fine. Something has to change here.
  • Reply 8 of 17
    In my experience the crappy cables I have bought in the past have outperformed the expensive MONSTER cables that my GUGI Friends bought. Don't see how this is any different, it's just for charging my device and the occasional reset once in a blue moon for anything else there is WI-FI.

    Bring me the cheap nasty cables for charging anyday over the overpriced Apple Cables.
  • Reply 9 of 17


    Originally Posted by TimmyDax View Post

    That's incredibly short-sighted for a connector that's supposed to last ten years.


     


    That's what the future is for. The dongle is pointless right now, but probably not then.






    Not even USB3?



     


    I don't think the current chips' r/w can saturate USB 2, even.

  • Reply 10 of 17
    marcel655 wrote: »
    In my experience the crappy cables I have bought in the past have outperformed the expensive MONSTER cables that my GUGI Friends bought. Don't see how this is any different, it's just for charging my device and the occasional reset once in a blue moon for anything else there is WI-FI.
    Bring me the cheap nasty cables for charging anyday over the overpriced Apple Cables.
    GUGI? Is that short for gullible.?
  • Reply 11 of 17


    Originally Posted by Marcel655 View Post

    In my experience the crappy cables I have bought in the past have outperformed the expensive MONSTER cables that my GUGI Friends bought. Don't see how this is any different, it's just for charging my device and the occasional reset once in a blue moon for anything else there is WI-FI.

    Bring me the cheap nasty cables for charging anyday over the overpriced Apple Cables.


     


    Monster's its own monster, what with the lies they spew. But I'll buy Apple cables because, hey, they're not overpriced for their quality. Meaning build quality, not "signal transfer".

  • Reply 12 of 17
    rayzrayz Posts: 814member

    I don't really understand folk who spend so much money on a phone, then risk damaging it by skipping a few dollars on the cable.
  • Reply 13 of 17
    asciiascii Posts: 5,936member


    It's a nice sentiment, but no-one who is not already close to compliance is going to change their entire work practices for an extra logo. Who looks for that anyway? I've seen it around but didn't even know it meant anything official. So many companies give away these logos for nothing (e.g. intel inside on a sh*tbox) that none of them mean anything anymore.

  • Reply 14 of 17
    philboogiephilboogie Posts: 7,675member
    The NAND memory in iDevices prevents that. It won't go any faster.

    Hynix is the supplier and with DDR Mode, it can do 200MB/s read/write operations, but it needs a 8-bit bus and I see no mention of that being in the iPhone anywhere. Also can't find it for iPads.
    rayz wrote: »
    I don't really understand folk who spend so much money on a phone, then risk damaging it by skipping a few dollars on the cable.

    Good point, I don't understand that either. There are also people complaining they had to spent $20 for a Nano SIM card and started cutting and sandpaper their Micro SIM card
  • Reply 15 of 17

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by ascii View Post


    […] no-one who is not already close to compliance is going to change their entire work practices for an extra logo […]



     


    It's not just logo, it's the Lightning authentication chip. Apple wants to control accessories the same way they control apps.

  • Reply 16 of 17
    rhyderhyde Posts: 294member
    "outperformed the expensive MONSTER cables"

    If you're trying to make a point, a better example is called for...
  • Reply 17 of 17
    aiaaia Posts: 181member
    philboogie wrote: »
    There are also people complaining they had to spent $20 for a Nano SIM card and started cutting and sandpaper their Micro SIM card

    $20?? What a ripoff! Over here China Mobile is providing Nano SIMs for free! My wife and I just got our official China Mobile Nano SIMs last week. We were previously using cut Mini SIMs, without any problems I might add, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to get a real Nano SIM since there was no cost. Ironically, the card cutting method actually cost us money as I had to buy a SIM cutter (~$4). Of course, at the time that the iPhone 5 was released China Mobile hadnt started stocking Nano SIMs.
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