Griffin Launching Official Lightning Connector Cables Next Week
Griffin today announced the upcoming release of Apple-certified Lightning charge and sync cables for the iPhone 5, 5th generation iPod touch, fourth generation iPad and iPad mini. — Though there have been several unofficial …
Context & Ripple Effects
Griffin is the second major accessory maker through Apple's certification gate: Belkin announced the first official third-party Lightning accessories in early November, and Griffin follows weeks later with its own certified charge and sync cables. The gap between the iPhone 5's September launch and this wave of certified product was filled by unofficial cables — which Chipworks' teardown of the Lightning cable suggested would be hard to clone, given the authentication chip inside.
First-order effects
- Buyers of the iPhone 5, iPad mini, fourth-generation iPad and fifth-generation iPod touch get a certified cable alternative to Apple's own at retail next week, right as holiday shopping and the December 7 iPad mini China launch drive demand.
- Sellers of unofficial Lightning cables now compete against certified branded options from two established accessory makers, undercutting their main appeal of being first to market.
Second-order effects
- Every remaining Lightning accessory maker faces the same choice Belkin and Griffin made: pursue Apple certification or cede the cable-and-dock category to those who did.
- Retailers gain a multi-vendor certified cable shelf for the holidays, shifting pricing pressure onto Apple's first-party cable as the reference point.
Third-order effects
- Lightning turns the humble charging cable into a licensed product: Apple's authentication chip decides who may sell into an installed base of tens of millions of new devices, making certification compliance a structural requirement for the entire iOS accessory industry.
- If the HDMI and VGA adapters Apple promised in September arrive on the same certified-vendor model, the accessory ecosystem consolidates around MFi-approved brands rather than the open aftermarket that preceded it.
The trend: Apple's move to a chip-authenticated proprietary connector is converting the iOS accessory market from an open aftermarket into a licensed ecosystem where certification, not manufacturing skill, is the entry barrier.