Lightning connector

Lightning connector: An 8-pin, double sided (only one side electrically connected to device) serial data and power connector for connecting Apple mobile devices using active cables; Official connectors are certified by Apple’s MFi program

Pinout

Electrical characteristics

Protocol details

Connector versions

(Note: all contain a controller chip between the connector and the cable)

Controller chip functions:

PD protocol identification
encryption / decryption

SHA256??

product info

Can be read by devices such as the ChargerLAB POWER-Z MF001
Similar concept to USB Type C ‘E-Marker chip’/‘Electronically Marked Cable’

USB-C requires at least one for cables supporting USB 3 speeds or >3A current
Manufacturers: Hynetek (Shenzhen), ConvenientPower (China), VIA Technologies, Inc. (Taiwan)

Apple MFI Original Lightning Connector

C48/C89/C91/C94/C100/C101

C10B

??

C48

Gold contacts; equal dielectric spacing around pins

Not supplied by Apple since March 2019

Multiple small ICs on PCB

(gold-plated copper)

C48A / C48B

C52

For USB-C to Lightning

Fast-charging support

(gold-plated copper)

C89

Silver contacts; more dielectric towards cable than towards connector end; (slightly longer than C48??)

Single, larger IC on PCB

“Designed with high-level confidentiality of information”?? - is there some sort of link-level encryption?

Is this part of why Apple resists EU mandates for USB-C charging connectors?

(rhodium- and ruthenium-plated copper)

C91

Same appearance as C89; Used only by Apple?

Supports 18W+ PD for fast chargers

Used for USB C to Lightning cables

Uses AS3616A controller?

C91M??

C94

Same as C91; used by both 3rd-part manufacturers and Apple

Used for USB C to Lightning cables

Small encryption chip on rear side of PCB?

USB Power Delivery 3.0 ??

C100

Used for ‘Earpods with Lightning connector’??

C101

Same appearance as C100?

Used for ‘Lightning to 3.5mm Headphone Jack Adapter’??, e.g. at 48 kHz 26-bit audio

C101ROW-MFI677-0783

Higher-cost than C100?

C189

Lower-power (12W) version of C89

uses same ruthenium-rhodium plating as C94, preventing blackening / oxidation of gold-plated terminals (copper oxidation when gold wears off? -jhg)

AS3616A controller, but no encryption chip on back?

same as the main chip of C94 connector, but adopts a single-chip design, built-in handshake, PD fast charging function, and integrated PMU and MOS tube

E75: ?? (maybe actually ‘C75’??)

Manufacture

Connector and chip produced on a single PCB?
Encapsulated in metal shell to increase strength (i.e. to minimize chance of PCB breakage

For example, Wandkey tests with a 160N(16 Kg) force applied no further than the edge of the connector (maybe 5mm max torque arm??)

End of encapsulated connector as large solder pads for cable connection (3 on one side, 2 on the other?)
Strain relief applied after cable connected

Current manufacturers:

Avnet: $2.544 for C89/C94 connectors (10640 qty per package); $2.84 for 1-week delivery; $2.90 with 13% Hong Kong VAT to get to Chinese factories; Connector, MFI, C89: P/N MFI677-16892; Connector, MFI, C94: P/N MFI677-16893

Arrow

Other costs:

$0.20 for 1m 24*28 wire gauge cable (inner braided, aluminum foil)

2m cables use 22*28 wire gauge
3m cables use 18*28 wire gauge

$0.40 for production costs

connector encapsulation to protect against liquid ingress and physical damage
shield laser welding
testing, minimum of 4 times per cable

$0.15 for USB connector, TPE, and losses

Total costs at factory: $3.65

OEM products

(generally made for Apple by Foxconn in China)

MD818AM/A: 1M Lightning / USB-A
MD819: Lightning / USB-A?; uses E75 IC
MD827: Airpods

References

https://wandkey.com/differences-of-lightning-connector/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPJmXLN1aHE

https://wandkey.com/2022-latest-mfi-authorized-manufacturers-list/

(Includes UPC search)

Apple cables have country-of-origin and 12-digit serial numbers printed on the cable about 7 inches from the USB connector end and a grey metallic ‘faceplate’ at a right-angle to the connector end (I’m not sure when this started? -jhg); they also have 2 evenly-spaced, trapezoidal, keys on the shell of the USB-A connector and gold-plated USB contacts; they also have laser-etched symbols on connector shells

https://wandkey.com/why-does-the-mfi-certified-lightning-cable-so-expensive/

https://www.bytecable.com/what-is-the-e-marker-chip/

C91 connector:

https://twitter.com/chargerlab/status/1577878633221222400

C94 connector:

C189 connector: https://cwtcharger.com/what-is-the-difference-between-apple-c189-and-c94-connectors/

‘Fast charging’ standards: QC 4.0/QC 3.0/Huawei Super Fast Charging/Oneplus Wrap Charging/Vivo Vooc Charging, etc.; PD charging(iPhone), QC 3.0/2.0(Samsung), Vooc(OPPO, OnePlus), FCP, SCP(Huawei) etc.; Samsung used to have QC 2.0 (Micro USB Cable) and QC 3.0 (USB Type C Cable) fast charging standard on its smartphones, but now it also adopt the PD charging (USB Type C Cable) on the Note 10. As long as the cable can carry 2A current, then it support QC 2.0/3.0. However to support fast charging on Note 10, the USB Type C Cable have to be able to carry at least 3A current, then it can carry 45 watts (15V 3A) power to the delivery.; Huawei have FCP and SCP on its smartphones. The USB-C Cable have to be able to carry 22.5W(5V 4.5A/4.5V 5A) Current; Oneplus, OPPO and VIVO fast charging standard is similar, to support fast charging on their smartphones, the USB Type C Cable should have an IC inside, when the charger recognize the IC, the fast charging will be activated.
Output PD (example): 5V3A/ 9V2.22A/ 12V1.67A(20W); 9V 3A 27W PD fast charging; 20V 3A 60W power