Availability of Apple's Lightning Adapters and Cables Slipping [Updated]

With shipping estimates for new pre-orders of the iPhone 5 through Apple's online store slipping to two weeks just an hour after pre-orders began earlier today, customers are also snapping up Apple's supplies of Lightning adapters and cables.

Alongside the iPhone 5 announcement on Wednesday, Apple introduced a pair of adapters to allow users to continue using older cables and accessories based on the long-standing 30-pin dock standard: a $29 direct plug adapter and a $39 short-cable adapter.

lightning adapters cable shipping
Availability of the new adapters has already begun to slip significantly, with Apple now quoting shipping estimates of "October" for new orders through its online store. The company's $19 Lightning to USB cable, which comes standard with Apple's latest devices but which should be popular as a standalone purchase with customers wanting to set up multiple charging locations, has also slipped from 1-3 business days to 2-3 weeks.

Apple has also acknowledged that it will be launching HDMI and VGA cables for Lightning-equipped devices, but the company has not yet made them available for order.

Update: A number of readers have noted that the adapters have been listed as shipping in October since they first showed up in Apple's online store on Wednesday. Shipping estimates on the USB cable have, however, indeed slipped.

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro 34ths Perspective

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Sunday March 23, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Expected Next Week - Here Are the Release Notes

Friday March 28, 2025 2:01 pm PDT by
With the second release candidate of iOS 18.4 that Apple seeded out today, the company finally provided us with release notes that give a full rundown on what to expect. There's an Apple Vision Pro app, new Apple Intelligence features for notifications and additional language support, plus an Apple News Food feature for Apple News+ subscribers, and several updates that should improve the...
Magic Mouse Green

What to Expect From the Magic Mouse 3

Saturday March 29, 2025 10:15 am PDT by
Apple is reportedly working on a new Magic Mouse. Below, we recap what to expect. The two key rumors for the Magic Mouse 3 so far include a relocated charging port, along with a more ergonomic design. It was briefly rumored that the Magic Mouse 3 would also feature voice control, but that was misinterpreted information. Relocated Charging Port While the Magic Mouse switched from...
top stories 2025 03 29

Top Stories: WWDC 2025 Announced, iPhone 17 Pro and iOS 19 Rumors, and More

Saturday March 29, 2025 6:00 am PDT by
Apple's big developer event is a little over two months away, and rumors about what we can expect to see in Apple's next major operating system updates are becoming increasingly frequent. A public release of iOS 18.4 is also imminent with a number of updates and improvements, although we won't be getting the major Apple Intelligence Siri upgrades that had reportedly been planned for this...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature Homescreen

Six Things to Know About Apple's Upcoming Foldable iPhone

Friday March 28, 2025 3:54 pm PDT by
We've been hearing rumors about a foldable iPhone for almost a decade now, but it looks like we might finally see the device come to fruition in 2026. We're going to be waiting many more months for the foldable iPhone, but so far we're hearing good things. Apple wants to make it creaseless. It's taken Apple multiple years to design a foldable iPhone that it's satisfied with because Apple ...
iOS 19 visionOS UI Elements

Apple Codename Provides Clue About iOS 19's Rumored New Design

Sunday March 30, 2025 6:40 am PDT by
Multiple sources have claimed that iOS 19 will introduce a new design with more translucent buttons, menus, notification banners, and more, and there is now another clue that points towards this glass-like appearance. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today said the new design project is codenamed "Solarium" internally. A solarium is a room with glass walls that allow in plenty of sunlight, so this...
Facebook Feature

Facebook's New iPhone App Feature Turns the Clock Back to 2007

Thursday March 27, 2025 1:59 pm PDT by
In the mid-to-late 2000s, Facebook was all about staying connected with friends and family. However, as the social media platform added new features and grew over time, that core experience began to get drowned out. That changes starting now, according to Meta, which today introduced a new feature that will "bring back the joy" of classic Facebook. Specifically, Meta has redesigned the...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature Homescreen

iPhone Foldable Display Said to Feature iPad-Style 4:3 Aspect Ratio

Friday March 28, 2025 3:44 am PDT by
Apple's upcoming "iPhone Fold" will feature a foldable screen with a 4:3 aspect ratio, according to a Chinese leaker who previously leaked the book-style device's display dimensions. The Weibo-based account Digital Chat Station claims that Apple will adopt a "roughly" 4:3 aspect ratio on the inner display in order to achieve consistency between the outer display, as well as to ensure parity...

Top Rated Comments

andalusia Avatar
164 months ago
This just shows how easy it is for Apple to make money, even at ridiculous prices. They are very, very clever.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
daneoni Avatar
164 months ago
Should be including these for free...especially the adapter. Why can't they just be nice to their customers once a while.

I read an estimate that these things alone will fetch Apple north of $100m in profit.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iReality85 Avatar
164 months ago
I think this is completely unreasonable. $29 for a compact adapter, and $39 for the wired version? I understand that Apple wanted to update the ten year old connector, but to not even include a compact adapter along with the iPhone 5? This is borderline gouging, and to make it worse its forced gouging. There's going to be a lot of unhappy customers. Keep in mind- most Apple users aren't geeks; they don't post on these forums and don't watch the events. They are literally going to buy the iPhone 5, open it, and go, "it has a new connector? I can't plug it into all my accessories? I can't use my sound dock anymore at work? Not in my car?" The right thing for Apple to do would be to include a compact adapter with the iPhone 5 (at the very least, or even just for the first few months). I mean, it's bad enough that Lightning doesn't support video-out, or even guaranteed to work with some sound docks, so customers will need an adapter for that too.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
orfeas0 Avatar
164 months ago
This just shows how easy it is for Apple to make money. They are very, very clever.

yep... that easy...
Just change the shape of the charger and sell adapters, boom! We're rich!
And at 20$ for each adapter and 30$ for the cable adapter... Oh my god the ripoff!
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DMVillain Avatar
164 months ago
They were never available immediately, even after the keynote it said October.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
thatisme Avatar
164 months ago
I believe they should have included (1) of the adapters with each of the new phones. I know they will make more by selling them, but there is a certain amount of good will that they would have generated and they could have lessened the harsh feelings people have toward the overpriced cables.

It'll be interesting to see if they do a bit of price adjusting later on, or if they will continue to sell enough of these at the current price points. And, I wonder how quickly the 3rd party guys like monoprice will make Lightning cables and adapters available.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)