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

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

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.

"There is basically no way [third-party adapters] are functional cables," Peter told Apple Insider. "You can't just build a Lightning cable by making something with the same shape and connectivity." That means that all those third-party connectors out there will fit the ports on your devices, sure, but they probably aren't going to actually work. What looks like a $10, $20, or $30 could very well wind up being a waste, so if you're in a hurry, official adapters are probably the best bet.

If you aren't, you can sit tight and see if someone can figure out how to fake those chips, but it could wind up being pretty difficult. Peter put it this way in an email to us:

If the chip has some code on board that makes it authenticate with the iPhone, then it may be hard to duplicate for sure. If it's doing a "smart" function like pin assignment or something crazy like that, then it definitely is going to be mandatory. Apple has said it's a "smart" connector but it is horrifying that just a basic power charging/sync cord like this requires additional complexity.

It could take some serious engineering brain-power to get to the bottom of what this chip is actually doing. Until then, first-party is the only surefire option. [Apple Insider, Peter (Double Helix Cables)]