Apple fans on a week-long torturous wait to the Sept. 9 event where Apple is widely expected to unveil the iPhone 6 will surely have a lot of new features to look out for, but a reversible USB Lightning connector is not one of them.
On Monday, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities, who has a strong track record of producing accurate Apple product reports, put to rest recent rumors that the next iteration of Apple's flagship smartphone will come with reversible USB connectors. These connectors can be plugged into any receptacle in any orientation and follow the new Type-C USB standard, which can deliver up to 10GB of data per second and can transmit up to 100 watts of power, allowing users to charge via USB as quickly as they can through a wall plug.
In a research note sent to investors and obtained by Apple insider, Kuo notes that speculations of a reversible USB connector and a new power adapter are "off the mark," citing "cost concerns and limited improvements to overall user experience that such change would bring" as the reason why Apple is likely not going to introduce these changes soon.
"We don't expect the USB power adapter and Lightning cable for iPhone 6 to have significant design change," says Kuo.
Kuo's note confirms earlier reports of a third-party manufacturer of Apple device components saying Apple will not be releasing the iPhone 6 with the reversible USB connectors or the 5W 2A USB power adapters. Moca.co, which claims to be a Made for iPhone (MFi) certified supplier of phone components, says it has seen the design for the reversible Lightning connectors but has been informed by Apple's main supplier that the iPhone maker has not made an order for the cables yet.
"Apple fans will not be able to get the MFi version of this revolutionary cable from Apple this year but that is not the end of the story," writes Moca.co on its website.
In any case, users do not have to wait for Apple to release its own reversible Lightning connectors. A California-based technology company named UltraTek has already won a patent for reversible USB cables and is selling them through various online retailers. A third-party vendor of smartphone accessories called Truffol is also selling similar products for $9.99.
Apple, however, recommends that its customers use only MFi-certified accessories and purchase from certified Apple partners.
