Third-party USB-C Lightning cables made official at CES by Griffin

Griffin is also coming to market with a third-party USB-C to Lightning cable suitable for connecting Apple's newest hardware to the iPhone.

At AppleInsider, we've been looking for an official USB-C to Lightning cable for quite a while and it seems that at CES 2019 our dreams have been answered. Griffin was one of the first to announce its new line of USB-C Lightning cables set to be released early in 2019.

The cables come in two variations, a premium 5-foot or a standard version in 4-foot and 6-foot sizes. The standard cables are available in black or white, while the premium come in silver, black, or gold.

Opting for the premium doesn't just get you the sweet spot 5-foot length, but a braided cable and aluminum over-mold.

Pricing for the new cables isn't out of line with what we currently see with Apple's own Lightning cables. The short standard cables will cost $19.99, the 6-foot standard will be $29.99, and the premium top out at $34.99. We should see these cables hitting the market between April and May, just behind when we expected to start seeing them.

To pair with the new cables, Griffin is also releasing an assortment of new chargers as well. There is an 18W USB-C wall charger, a dual-output 18W USB-C plus 12W USB-A wall charger, and an 18W USB-C PD car charger, each of which comes bundled with a USB-C Lightning cable.

AppleInsider will be attending the Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show starting on January 8 through January 11 where we're expecting 5G devices, HomeKit, 8K monitors and more. Keep up with our coverage by downloading the AppleInsider app, and follow us on YouTube, Twitter @appleinsider and Facebook for live, late-breaking coverage. You can also check out our official Instagram account for exclusive photos throughout the event.

10 Comments

MplsP 8 Years · 4047 comments

About 5 years ago

I don’t quite get why releasing 3rd party lightning - usb c cables was an issue. 3rd party lightning-USB A cables have obviously been around forever, and USB C is just a different form factor for usb 3.

That said, they’re really of limited use. Peter Schiller’s hallucinations aside, the world runs on USB A. The only benefit is to be able to directly plug into a MacBook Pro, but since the first accessory most people buy is a usb C-A dongle, even that isn’t much of a benefit

cheesehead dave 13 Years · 63 comments

MplsP said:

I don’t quite get why releasing 3rd party lightning - usb c cables was an issue. 3rd party lightning-USB A cables have obviously been around forever, and USB C is just a different form factor for usb 3.

That said, they’re really of limited use. Peter Schiller’s hallucinations aside, the world runs on USB A. The only benefit is to be able to directly plug into a MacBook Pro, but since the first accessory most people buy is a usb C-A dongle, even that isn’t much of a benefit

I suppose then you can use the USB-C wall charger that you're already carrying for charging the MacBook or Nintendo Switch or whatever else, and additionally use it for charging your phone without the need for another charger.

randominternetperson 8 Years · 3101 comments

MplsP said:

I don’t quite get why releasing 3rd party lightning - usb c cables was an issue. 3rd party lightning-USB A cables have obviously been around forever, and USB C is just a different form factor for usb 3.

That said, they’re really of limited use. Peter Schiller’s hallucinations aside, the world runs on USB A. The only benefit is to be able to directly plug into a MacBook Pro, but since the first accessory most people buy is a usb C-A dongle, even that isn’t much of a benefit

Huh. I'm looking at the Dell notebook that I was assigned at work as a replacement for my desktop PC (as were the hundreds of other employees at my company). There is no USB-A port, just 3 USB-C ports. The tipping point has been reached. USB-A will be around for a long time, but it's losing its dominance.

(Having said that, I agree with the first point. What took so long to have an "official" third-party option?)

wood1208 10 Years · 2938 comments

Good that consumers have more choices at price point. But, 2020/21, Apple might move to USB-C on iPhone and than all Apple devices are on the same port interface. I will miss reliability of Lightening port but who am I to say ?

anome 16 Years · 1545 comments

randominternetperson said:

MplsP said:

I don’t quite get why releasing 3rd party lightning - usb c cables was an issue. 3rd party lightning-USB A cables have obviously been around forever, and USB C is just a different form factor for usb 3.

That said, they’re really of limited use. Peter Schiller’s hallucinations aside, the world runs on USB A. The only benefit is to be able to directly plug into a MacBook Pro, but since the first accessory most people buy is a usb C-A dongle, even that isn’t much of a benefit

Huh. I'm looking at the Dell notebook that I was assigned at work as a replacement for my desktop PC (as were the hundreds of other employees at my company). There is no USB-A port, just 3 USB-C ports. The tipping point has been reached. USB-A will be around for a long time, but it's losing its dominance.

(Having said that, I agree with the first point. What took so long to have an "official" third-party option?)

I believe a large part of the delay was getting the new MFi spec for USB-C out of Apple. Then they have to assure compliance with the spec and get Apple to certify it. I seem to recall there was a delay in Apple releasing the updated MFi spec, much longer than it should have been when they were shipping products with USB-C 2 years ago.