As far as proprietary technology is concerned, Apple is currently one of the few companies still using a proprietary charging cable for its mobile products. This is versus other brands and platforms who have largely turned to micro USB, or who are recently turning to the use of USB Type-C.
However if you have iOS and non-iOS products and you’d like to stop swapping cables, a Kickstarter project by the name of the LMcable might be of interest to you. What this cable offers is both Lightning and micro USB, so you can charge many types of devices without having to keep changing cables.
All users have to do is pull out the cable, turn it around and it will play nicely with Lightning or micro USB. Unfortunately we can only imagine Apple won’t be too happy about sharing its technology this way, which is why the creators of LMcable have told The Verge that they won’t be bothering to apply for a Made for iPhone certification.
This means that you will have to use the cable at your own risk, and should any issues occur, you probably only have yourself and the company to blame, and not Apple. Either way if this sounds like something you might be interested in, hit up its Kickstarter page for the details.