Alongside Apple’s announcement of the new iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, it also released a new official Lightning Dock to sit the phones in. Unlike Apple’s previous version of this dock which was made entirely of plastic, these new docks are aluminum and color-matched to the Space Grey, Silver, Gold and Rose Gold finishes of the new iPhone 6s. YouTuber DetroitBORG has a full walkthrough video of all the new docks in action …
The dock is quite simple, a metal stump with a protruding Lightning Connector, but does the job well. The bumper between the dock and the connector gives some spacing which means the dock is compatible with some cases, allowing you to charge the phone without taking it out of the case. It will even fit an iPod nano and iPads although this isn’t really recommended. DetroitBORG says the Lightning connector is sturdy but the weight of an iPad could cause damage.
On the rear of the product, the dock features a Lightning connector and a 3.5mm audio jack to connect external speakers. The Lightning USB cable is not included in the box so you’ll have to provide your own.
DetroitBORG points out a nice touch with these docks; the connector bumper is actually color-matched to the color of the connector port on the corresponding iPhone 6s. This means that the Space Grey dock has a dark grey bumper, the Silver has a lighter gray and the Gold versions are white. This attention to detail is typical of Apple and may make up your mind if you are looking for perfect color coordination.
The new iPhone Lightning Dock costs $49 from Apple, a $10 premium over the previous plastic Lightning Dock. You can obviously get even cheaper docks from elsewhere but the quality of materials and attention to detail with the new Lightning Dock does seem to justify the price point.
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I start to think that Apple is getting more and more into the 3rd party business. I mean that they are producing more and more peripherals for all of its line up. Few years ago, they had such stuff mainly for their laptops/desktop computers. Right now, as we can see with the Watch bands, this dock, more and more cases/keyboards/etc, they are trying to, if not entirely, replace 3rd party providers of these lets say. Because, lets face it – that dock probably cost them no more than $5. $10 tops. 5/10 times margin (for instance, they have approximately 2.5-3 times margin with iPhones). Basically, they found that they can make much, much more money. :D But it’s a good thing, for sure their dock will be massive and will do the long run for us. Besides, if something happen, it’s much better to go to any Apple/App retail store and start shouting and crying about it. It’s harder to do it via Internet to some unknown Chinese guy in eBay. :D
Apple accessories are way way overpriced. I bet their markup on these docks is 40$.
With those dock the things that worries me is the fact that the phone isn’t supported from the back. So the weight of the phone is being exerted on the lightning port. And maybe it could suffer damage over time. I know the lightning iPhones are not heavy but all this weight is being exerted on this one port… I don’t know…
I actually have one of these docks for my iPhone 6 and I have stopped using it for now. I have the same concerns as you do. The male Lightning peg supports the entire weight of the iPhone. Something banging up against it would probably break the thing off and leave it stuck inside the iPhone or cause damage.
Guys it is going to take a pretty large hit to break off that Lightning port, and even if it takes a hit i would say that either the dock falls over or your phone becomes disconnected from the dock. Typically most people have these docks around their computers so if the dock gets hit you computer will probably get hit as well. As long as you guys aren’t playing dodgeball around your dock I think you will be fine and even then like I said I bet it doesn’t break off.
Can someone from the Android camp, please tell how much more of a benefit does their wireless charger offer over an above the Lightning dock? Real tangible benefit. Is a wireless charger really necessary when it offers like less than 50 % charging speed of a normal charger?
I use wireless charging during bedtime and quick chargers are for day use. I use my Air 2 by my bedside.
Pretty surprised that Apple made the battery smaller and didn’t touch on rapid charging.
You wouldn’t have to worry about the current name for breaking, like some people on here have posted. However, the phone can easily get knocked out of line with the charger and you might just come back to a dead phone. I would hardly say that it is less than 50% the speed of tethered charging, but it definitely as quick. Samsung did just introduce fast wireless charging for their Note 5 and S6 Edge + devices which would be faster than normal tethered charging, but not as fast as the newer quick charging standards. Also, wireless charging seems to produce even more heat than normal charging would. Satisfied?
Wireless charging is 100% a gimmick and marketing bullet point. Its a joke.
Your post is the joke.
It is a slick looking dock but $50 is too much IMO. There are so many other options from other vendors or just being creative yourself with a 3D printer, carving some wood, or even Lego Bricks.
True…I do like custom one off designs. But many don’t have the chops to make anything that will look any good. Plus, how much is your time worth to you.
If you pay yourself $50/hr, can you make one in an hour?
“but the quality of materials and attention to detail with the new Lightning Dock does seem to justify the price point.”
25¢ of mass-produced machine-shaved aluminum and what amounts to a passthough Lightning connector circuit board? You are nuts.
Look, I’ve been a fan of Apple since 1982, but there are limits. I don’t look at the Catholic Church and think, yeah, all that gold the Pope has is justified, because. The only reason these things are $50 is insanity and control. Apple controls the Lightning port, protocol, and connector, COMPLETELY. Otherwise you’d have very nicely handmade docks for $20. Further, Apple doesn’t even do anything USEFUL with this $50 hunk; the iPhone isn’t “aware” that it is sitting on a dock next to your bed and reduce its screen brightness, it doesn’t sit on a dock at your desk and keep the screen ON with the clock and Today view displayed, it doesn’t sit on the dock in your cabin and keep Personal Hotspot on because you’re in an area that is remote and without internet access…nothing. $50 to look “purty” and make the Lightning cable turn up 100°? Seriously? $50 in the Android world gets you several different incarnations of changing devices that include both wired AND WIRELESS, from docks, to pads, to magnetic holders. Apple has gone full Colonel Kurtz. Completely and totally insane.
$49? Remember when these used to come included with every iPhone? :/
Almost forgot about that. Damn…
I’m about 90% on board and fully into what Apple makes, this falls into the other 10%, along with the new Macbooks and various other little things. While very pretty, the usage to cost ratio of this thing is way too high. I would have paid up to about $35 CAD max for this thing, considering the nice finishes and the built in audio jack that a lot of other docks don’t have. But $50 USD is a little mad in my opinion.
I’m getting the Space Grey Dock, even though I have the plastic Dock for only a few months now. That one will be handed down to a friend. Or dropped in the trash. So I guess to each his/her own.
The original CCK was $29. But the new one with the Lighting port is $29 for *either* the USB or Card Reader. So that one got doubled in price. Yup, they do like to increase their prices. Just look at the iPhone prices in Europe, €50 – €70 increase