Shelly Palmer

Unofficial Lightning cables won’t charge iPhone 5 due to missing authentication chip

Lightning Adapter

It appears iPhone 5 users looking to pick up a spare Lightning cable will have no choice but to pony up the $19 for one made by Apple. Unlike the old 30-pin connector, it has been discovered by Double Helix Cables and AppleInsider that Apple’s new smaller cable has a special authentication chip embedded inside of it that prevents third-parties from duplicating it and making generic clones. In simple terms: don’t even bother picking up a cheaper knockoff Lightning cable because it probably won’t work. Read the full story at Boy Genius Report.