In its 11th year of existence, Apple’s Lightning interface is beginning to become history. On September 22, the iPhone 15 series, Apple Watch Ultra 2, and Apple Watch Series 9 will be officially released, all equipped with a USB-C interface as standard, and AirPods Pro (second generation) equipped with a USB-C interface will also be launched simultaneously.
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Apple Online Store (China)
At this point, Apple's five major product lines, namely iPhone, smart watches, Bluetooth headsets, tablets, and laptops, have all been replaced with USB-C interfaces, and the Lightning interface has been completely abandoned.
Changes in interfaces have boosted the business of peripheral accessories manufacturers. Qian Kai runs a data cable factory in Guangdong. He revealed to Times Finance that many factories are currently opening molds to produce dual USB-C head charging cables suitable for the iPhone 15 series. Some peers have sensed market opportunities early, and now there are more orders and business is booming.
Currently, there are countless iPhone15 series accessories on the e-commerce platform. An official from Apple accessory manufacturer Anker Innovation Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Anker") told Times Finance that preparations for commercially available products need to begin three months before the Apple launch event, and the company completed the preparations in August.
"Switching the charging cable interface to USB-C is the general trend. The originally scattered R&D technical resources will be focused on USB-C related fields to accelerate technological progress." Anke official said.
The brand owner has not received the MFi certification notification yet.
11 years ago, Apple released the Lightning interface. But in October 2022, the European Council approved a bill stipulating that by the end of 2024, all electronic products sold in the EU should use the USB-C interface. Since then, many reports have claimed that the iPhone 15 series will switch to USB-C interface.
According to previous media reports, the iPhone 15 series is equipped with a "completely standard" USB-C port without any performance restrictions on cables or accessories. However, Times Finance noticed that when consumers charge the iPhone 15 series, they also need to consider whether the charging cable is compatible with the charging head.
The iPhone 15 series and new iPad Pro packages come with dual USB-C port charging cables, and most of the charging heads sold on Apple’s official website also have USB-C interfaces. However, most mobile phone charging heads on the market have USB-A interfaces, and the charging cables that come with most smartphones have USB-C on one side and USB-A on the other.
Therefore, charging accessories for Apple phones are still different from many Android phones. Peripheral accessory manufacturers and brands still have to adapt to Apple phones instead of integrating with the Android camp.
Today, the iPhone 15 series has not yet been officially launched. Countless manufacturers and brands have launched accessories, including well-known accessory brands such as Pinsheng, Lulian, Anker, Bonkers, and Zimi. Bonkers has also set up a "New iPhone 15 Zone" in its flagship store.
In the past, Apple MFi (full name Made for iPhone/iPad/iPod) certification was the standard for many Apple fans to choose accessories, and many brands would also claim that their products had obtained official MFi certification. The iPhone 15 series interface has changed, does it still require MFi certification?
The customer service of the Green Alliance flagship store told Times Finance that the Apple lightning fast charging cable in the flagship store has MFi certification, but the USB-C charging cable adapted to the iPhone 15 series does not require MFi certification. Anker customer service said the same thing.
"The brand has not yet received notification from Apple that USB-C cables have corresponding MFi certification." Anker official said.
However, an Apple authorized store clerk told Times Finance that it is not recommended to mix charging cables with Android phones because the power is different. "If the wattage is too large, it is easy to charge the Apple device battery."
Factories receive orders in advance and profit margins increase significantly
Apple officially announced that the mobile phone interface will be replaced soon. What is the supply situation of accessory manufacturers?
Qian Kai said that his factory is mainly engaged in foreign trade and has hundreds of employees. It used to mainly produce lightning charging cables. It also produces charging cables with dual USB-C heads for iPad users, and the output is very small.
Since there are rumors that the iPhone 15 series will switch to USB-C interface, his factory has also received many orders for USB-C charging cables in advance, so it has adjusted its product structure. He said that the original profit of the factory was only about 8 points, but now the profit of producing dual USB-C head charging cable products exceeds 15 points.
"The price will be more expensive at the beginning, but as the production volume increases later, the price will get lower and lower." Qian Kai said that many factories are currently opening molds to adapt to the iPhone 15 series. Those peers that smell the market opportunities earlier and enter the market will have more orders.
The relevant person in charge of Anker said that the news from Anker's product side showed that when the information came out last year that the iPhone 15 might adopt the USB-C port, the company was already making relevant plans and planning different series of low, medium and high products. The sales volume increased significantly after the Apple conference.
"The current sales data are generally in line with expectations, and the market feedback is very good. There is no particularly explosive growth for the time being." He mentioned.
Since we just started making dual USB-C charging cables, Qian Kai’s factory production capacity has not yet reached the ideal state. The wire weaving is slow and the supply cannot keep up. He said that the production of dual USB-C charging cables will be greatly increased next month, and the production of lightning charging cables will be reduced at the same time. As the iPhone 15 series is shipped in batches, there will be more and more orders for charging cables.
The relevant person in charge of Anker also mentioned that although some factories have made plans in advance, due to the sudden burst of demand, the supply chain response takes time, and there may still be a shortage of supply in the short term.
He said that the iPhone's switch to the USB-C interface will greatly promote USB charging from an accessory category to an independent category.
"Currently, consumers' chargers and charging cables are usually given as gifts when buying electronic products. Over the past few years, everyone has a 'basket' of various chargers with different interfaces and functions. There are a lot of them when they are not in use, they cannot be found when they are used, and some even have quality problems. These are the pain points for users when it comes to USB charging... In the future, consumers will only need to look at USB-C when choosing chargers."
As for the supply side, the above-mentioned person in charge believes that the iPhone switching to USB-C interface is an important milestone in industry upgrading. The originally scattered R&D technical resources will be focused on USB-C related areas. In addition to charging cables, power banks and other 3C accessories will be affected.
However, he also said that because there are still many existing Apple products on the market, Lightning lines will still exist for a long time, similar to today's Micro lines, so factories will continue to produce products that meet the charging needs of Lightning interface devices.
(Qian Kai is a pseudonym in the article)