Apple’s New Lightning to HDMI Adapter Shows Why Apple is in Rapid Decline

Apple’s decision to switch to Lightning adapters, which rendered existing cables and accessories virtually useless, was met with widespread dismay from Apple users.  The Lightning cables and adapters are expensive, since they started from US$29.

In particular, the Lightning-to-HDMI cable is not only very expensive ($49) but it is also worse than the older 30-Pin cable in several ways.  Apple users have been complaining about the bad video quality of the new adapter, as well as the lack of an ability to play 1080p video.  Because of these complaints, Panic Software took apart the adapter to see what is inside, and discovered an ARM CPU.  In fact, the adapter streams video to devices using AirPlay.  Apple is using AirPlay to stream videos because the Lightning connector does not output video, even though the old 30-Pin one did.

Apple’s Focus on Gouging Customers Results in New Products that are Inferior to Older Ones

This issue is a symptom of what is likely the biggest problem facing Apple.  The company is so focused on maximizing profits that some of its newer products are actually worse than its older ones.  Customers didn’t have any complaints about the old 30-Pin-to-HDMI cables, but many have complained about the bad picture quality from the new adapter.  The older cable supports 1080p video (1920×1080) but the new Lightning adapter produces a lower quality image – 1600×900.

Lightning Connector is Simply USB 2.0 – But Much More Expensive

As for the initial decision to switch from 30-Pin to Lightning connectors, it is now clear that the Lightning connector is nothing more than USB 2.0.  It does not offer any enhanced performance over USB 2.0, but it is much more expensive because of its proprietary nature.