Average price of iOS device cables to rise 84% with new 9-pin design
The new 9-pin dock connector expected to debut with Apple's next iPhone will also cary a higher cost that is projected to push its average selling price up 84.3 percent year over year.
The details were provided on Wednesday by analyst Ming-Chi Kuo with KGI Securities, who found that the average selling price of the new connector will be "considerably higher" than the legacy 30-pin design that Apple has used for the last decade.
The cost increase comes from the fact that the new connector will be smaller and thinner than the current design, requiring greater requirements in precision, durability and drop quality assurance tests.
In addition, Kuo revealed that each cable will be embedded with a detector integrated circuit in order to counter unauthorized accessories, further adding to the cost of the cables.
A total of five devices are expected to be compatible with the revised connector this fall, beginning with the "iPhone 5" and the new iPod touch. In October, Apple is also expected to launch a newly redesigned iPod nano, along with a tweaked new iPad largely unchanged other than support for the 9-pin connector. And also in October, Apple is expected to launch a smaller 7.85-inch iPad that will also feature support for the 9-pin design.
Cable manufacturer Cheng Uei is expected to be the biggest beneficiary of the higher average selling price for the new 9-pin cables. Kuo has forecast that the company's cable sales will rise 48 percent year over year, representing 32 percent of Cheng Uei's sales in 2013.
The details were provided on Wednesday by analyst Ming-Chi Kuo with KGI Securities, who found that the average selling price of the new connector will be "considerably higher" than the legacy 30-pin design that Apple has used for the last decade.
The cost increase comes from the fact that the new connector will be smaller and thinner than the current design, requiring greater requirements in precision, durability and drop quality assurance tests.
In addition, Kuo revealed that each cable will be embedded with a detector integrated circuit in order to counter unauthorized accessories, further adding to the cost of the cables.
A total of five devices are expected to be compatible with the revised connector this fall, beginning with the "iPhone 5" and the new iPod touch. In October, Apple is also expected to launch a newly redesigned iPod nano, along with a tweaked new iPad largely unchanged other than support for the 9-pin connector. And also in October, Apple is expected to launch a smaller 7.85-inch iPad that will also feature support for the 9-pin design.
Cable manufacturer Cheng Uei is expected to be the biggest beneficiary of the higher average selling price for the new 9-pin cables. Kuo has forecast that the company's cable sales will rise 48 percent year over year, representing 32 percent of Cheng Uei's sales in 2013.
Comments
Quote:
Originally Posted by luinil
...they will have to make cables that can be used more than 6 months before starting to deteriorate...
I'm still regularly using a 30 pin connector that's nearly 7 years old (yes, the one you need to pinch to release). That's pretty robust in my book!
I consider myself an abuser of tech and I can't say I've ever had that issue.
Considering you can get cables from places like Meritline for around $1, an 84% increase isn’t saying much IMO.
The new connector looks considerably more complex. If it also has a chip inside that will be something others will have to buy to make their cables. I would expect the $3.39 Mertiline charges right now to be a lot more than 84%.
I have had two fall apart, out of a dozen or more over the years. The worst for me was the USB keyboard that shipped with the sunflower iMac. The "A" connector split in half and has been held together with tape for the past seven years.
Yeah, I've had Apple's cables fall apart but not after 6 months and certainly not with what I'd consider normal wear and tear.
I run through in-ear phones a lot faster. After completely destroying two Shure in-ear phones I've spent over $200 on each I'm now using Apple's in-ear phones until after the new iPhone comes out... if they last that long. I wrap them up and push them in my front pocket, I have them yanked from ears as the cord gets wrapped around a door handle, I've had the phone drop many times. The jack on the cable is now bent that you have to put them just right. Still, they've held up better than Klipsch at the jack end. I much prefer Shure here because it's made to be more resilient to being pulled.
PS: I accidently found that holding Shift+Option plus the I, B, U, or L will bring up Huddler's Bold, Italics, Underlines, or URL Link markup code.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ascii
The new connector must be faster, or at least have greater power draw, right? I don't think they would change it without improving the specs at the same time. The iPad 3 charges very slowly and a lot of data transfer is HD these days.
I don't believe the charging rate is determined by the cable. It might be faster as I have seen speculation it is USB 3.
The chip would seem to be a sign of Tim Cook at work. I am so glad I haven't bought into the iOS ecosystem and the iGreed it entails. Gives me for funds to buy Macs.
What do you mean?
Just my rant.
Hoping this isn't true - $20 for a cable is highway robbery as it is. If the article is accurate I'll either wait for the 3rd party manufacturers or just not buy a backup cable. Ugh.
Oh no! 84%!?!?!? So the old ones cost maybe 10 cents, and the new will cost 18 to make? Boy this is terrible!
Sensationalist headline
I agree, it makes no sense. Especially when you consider that most accessories aren't tethered by dock connector cable.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pkin1
I get confused by the term "84%"... What if the number was "184%"? Wouldn't that mean the same thing? If a price is twice as much, do we say it increased 100%? Or do we say it increased 200%? If the answer is 100%, what does it mean when we say the price increased 200% or 300%? Its a semantic problem with the word "increased" which may or may not imply "in addition to". When we say "increased 300%" we mean equals 300% times the initial value, not is 300% plus the initial value.
Just my rant.
Misplaced rant. Increased 84% is very clear, and is very different from increased 200%. Something that doubles increases by 100%. This is not complicated. A number that is increased 200% has tripled. When we say increased by 300% we do not mean what you say, we DO mean that the new value is 4x the initial value. Sorry, you're the only one who is confused by this.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SolipsismX
I wonder if that detector chip would also mean that internally the cable is split into a 'Y' with the one side reversed so that the pins are the same either way you rotate the flat end of the cable 180°.
Quote:
Originally Posted by luinil
If they augment the price, they will have to make cables that can be used more than 6 months before starting to deteriorate...
I consider myself an abuser of tech and I can't say I've ever had that issue.
Obviously, you don't have any teenagers around!
Quote:
Originally Posted by SolipsismX
What do you mean?
The chip, if true, would be there to give Apple a revenue stream by preventing accessory manufacturers from producing more reasonably priced accessories. Tim Cook is supposedly expert at milking business systems. iGreed, it all started with charging carriers a % of their data revenue in order to be allowed to sell the iPhone and has proceeded from there.