If you’re looking for a Lightning-to-USB-C cable for your iPhone, you’re probably aware that the official cables sold by Apple are pretty pricey considering that they are essentially just a bundle of wires. The prices of official accessories are generally more expensive, which is why people tend to shop at third-parties.
However in terms of an MFi third-party Lightning-to-USB-C cable is concerned, there are none at the moment (plenty of unofficial ones though), but the good news is that we can start expecting them in 2019. This is because Apple has recently informed members of its MFi licensing program that come 2019, they will be able to start manufacturing their own Lightning-to-USB-C cables.
The benefits of buying from a third-party company that holds the MFi license is that the parts they get are approved by Apple, meaning that these are guaranteed to play nicely with your Apple products. This is versus unofficial accessories which will most likely work, but whether or not they end up damaging your Apple device is a different story.
While MFi accessories aren’t necessarily cheap, they are cheaper than official. For example an official Lightning-to-USB-A cable from Apple costs $19, while an MFi version can cost as little as $12. When exactly third-parties will start releasing these MFi Lightning-to-USB-C cables is unclear, but it should be in the early part of 2019.
Filed in . Read more about iPhone.