With Apple’s latest MFi summit taking place earlier this month to school accessory makers on adopting Apple’s new smaller Lightning connector standard, many accessories from reputable companies are quickly starting to roll out. Unfortunately, the delay in getting the new standard out to third-party accessory manufacturers means many well-known companies might not get a product on the market in time for the holidays. Some that have released products are unable to keep up with demand and ship before the Dec 25.
For those of you looking for a Lightning dock, car chargers, adapter, or any other accessory before the holidays, we put together a guide to all the Lightning accessories currently available to order.
Many of the products below are also discounted for Black Friday and through the weekend:
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Docks:
Belkin: Cable’s not included. Belkin has one of the most attractive offers currently for Lightning docks. Belkin is selling its Charge + Sync dock for iPhone 5 (and iPod touch fifth-gen) that includes a built-in foldaway AUX jack and audio out for headphones or external speakers for $30.
JBL: Two nice speaker docks are now available to order from JBL: The Micro OnBeat $99.95 (pictured above), and the $199.95 OnBeat Venue. Both feature Lightning docks, and the larger of the two will accommodate your iPad mini and iPods as opposed to just iPhone 5. JBL is already taking orders and—as one of the only iPhone 5 speaker docks on the market—will likely sell a lot leading into the holidays.
ElevationLab: Recently modded to accommodate a Lightning cable, the popular solid aluminum Elevation Dock (pictured right) is now available to order for iPhone 5, ranging from $89 to $109 for the various polished- and matte finishes. It also sells a $15 adapter for owners of the old models that want to make their dock Lightning compatible.
TheLightningDock: While the hardwood and brushed finishes are sold out, TheLightningDock.com is shipping out the aluminum bead- and black aluminum bead finishes of its streamlined aluminum dock for $34.95 without a cable.
iPhone5mod: iPhone5mod, one of the first third-party manufacturers with Lightning accessories on the market, is also still selling its iPhone 5 Flash Lightning dock for $40 with cable or half that without the cable. It also has its iPhone 5 Dock Pro available with a Lightning or Micro USB port. iPhone5mod sent us some of its docks and Lightning accessories to check out, and we certainly have no trouble recommending them for the price.
Braeburn Acoustics: Braeburn is selling a new iPhone 5 dock that includes a built-in acoustic amplifier that provides an 8dB boost without using power. A couple unique features of this dock: it is designed to work with any case and includes a 1/4-20 threaded fitting for mounting to tripods. Braeburn is selling the dock in multiple finishes for $24.95 from its website. You can also buy family packs of three or five docks for $69.95 or $99.95.
There are also a number of cheaper, bring-your-own cable docks on Amazon. These range from $9.99 to $19.99 for one with a 3.5mm line out.
Car Chargers:
Griffin: Well-known accessory maker Griffin recently announced its first Lightning Car Charger with the 10-Watt PowerJolt SE. Regularly priced at $25, it is currently on sale for $22.99 through Griffin’s website for the holidays.
Belkin: Another 10 Watt car charger, minus the coiled cable, comes from Belkin for $29.99.
Ionic: Perhaps a better deal comes from Ionic. It is offering a bundle that includes a USB wall charger with Lightning cable and car charger for $34.95. It also has the car charger by itself for $24.95. But, unfortunately, both products will not ship until Dec. 28.
Like the docks, you can also find cheaper no-name solutions on Amazon ranging from $12.99 to $14.99 with cable included.
Cables & Adapters:
Lightning to mini USB: Apple’s adapter goes for over $20, but you can grab one for as low as $9.50 on Amazon.
Lightning to 30-pin: Apple’s 30-pin adapter for Lightning iOS devices will cost you around $30, but again, Amazon has generic versions available to order for as low as $6. One with an 8-inch cable will cost you around $8 on Amazon
Lightning to USB: iPhone5Mod sells a retractable Lightning to USB cable (pictured right) for $10.
You can also grab a 3-foot Lightning to USB cable from BoxWave that will charge and sync just like Apple’s cable for $12.50.
Lightning Digital AV adapter: Apple’s adapter sells for $50 from its online store, and there are currently not any cheaper comparable third-party solutions that we could find. Same thing goes for Apple’s $50 Lightning to VGA adapter.
Coming soon:
Accessory maker Scosche recently announced a handful of new lightning accessories including 5W and 12W car adapters, wall chargers, and a retractable Lightning to USB cable. We expect many more big accessory manufacturers to release products in the coming months. Until then, you’ll have to stick with the products above.
We’ll of course keep you informed as more quality Lightning accessories are announced.
Related articles
- JBL launches first Lightning speaker docks, Belkin announces new iPad mini keyboard folio (9to5mac.com)
- Griffin begins shipping Lightning cables with its $25 Powerjolt Car Charger (9to5mac.com)
- Third-party Lightning connector products surface as manufacturers report cracking Apple’s authentication chip (9to5mac.com)
- Belkin unveils first third-party Lightning accessories (9to5mac.com)
- Review: Incipio iPhone 5 Kicksnap, DualPro SHINE, OVRMLD cases (9to5mac.com)
- Holiday gift idea for your ancestors: Pyle’s new retro rotary telephone with built-in iPhone dock (9to5mac.com)
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