Real or Fake? Lightning to USB-C Cables for Previous iMacs Shown in 'Unreleased' Colors

Apple enthusiast @StellaFudge today shared photos of USB-C to Lightning cables in six "unreleased" colors, including what appears to be teal, blue, purple, yellow, red, and orange. He said Apple allegedly planned to include the cables with Apple silicon Macs, but the cables have never been released in these exact shades.

iMac Cables StellaFudgeImage Credit: @StellaFudge

"They're darker, more vibrant, and the normally white plastic has a matching color tint," he said.

Given the cables have a Lightning connector, that means they would have been included with iMac models with the M1 chip or M3 chip, if they are authentic. The latest iMac with the M4 chip comes with a USB-C to USB-C cable for use with the new USB-C Magic accessories.

The wording of the social media post makes it sound like these cables were designed by Apple, and ultimately never released, but there is a possibility that they could be knockoff cables created by a third party. A similar photo of colorful USB-C cables surfaced last year, but the rumor that they would be included with iPhone 15 models proved to be inaccurate. It is possible that those cables were counterfeit too, but we cannot say for sure.

Apple has included color-matching cables with the iMac since the M1 model launched in 2021, but they have brighter, pastel colors.

Considering that Apple never released these deeper-colored cables, at best, or they are knockoffs, at worst, their existence does not really mean too much in the end. However, it's a fun look at something that might have been.

@StellaFudge has also shared various unreleased Apple Watch bands in the past.

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Top Rated Comments

FSMBP Avatar
3 weeks ago
This is why I come to this site...good old fashioned Macintosh Rumors!

For the record about those cables: they're real and they're spectacular.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
tomtad Avatar
3 weeks ago
Can we ban the word colourways

Thanks
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
decafjava Avatar
3 weeks ago
Another Frieren ('https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frieren') fan I see. Regarding the cables I like the colours!
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
coffeemilktea Avatar
3 weeks ago
Now that Apple isn't putting Apple stickers in the box, can we get Frieren stickers instead? ?

Anyways, the rumor about the cables is pretty awesome if true.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
SeaFox Avatar
3 weeks ago

Another Frieren ('https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frieren') fan I see. Regarding the cables I like the colours!
They're autumn colors, like the kind you see on long journeys to speak to the spirits of dead comrades (with only occasional pauses to do magic and replenish snacks).
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Stella_Fudge Avatar
3 weeks ago
In case anyone's curious, here's each of them individually

Every single one of them has a 2-D datamatrix etched onto the USB-C connector, which has its serial number and a couple of other pieces of info like the type of configuration that it is and other internal lingo that the notes how far in the development process it is. Some of them also had a sticker that was attached to the backside of the cardboard retainer piece which also has its matching serial number as a scannable datamatrix. Pretty standard stuff for prototypes. I've attached a couple more images of other prototypes that have similar markings, and if anyone's interested I can show you more from ones I personally have kicking around at home.

I'm also not really sure why they decided to tint to the plastic a little bit on each of them, white tip for plastic has been their thing since forever, and on some of them are kind of looks off. The yellow one for example just looks like it's aged in the sun for like 20 years.

Genuinely though I am absolutely in love with the colors overall. Even though I have like 16 of these cables, I only plan on keeping one of each colour so I'm gonna get rid of 10 of them in the near future.

If somebody is interested I can also post comparison of what each production colour looks like relative to each of these colours since I do have the full set of coloured release iMac lightning cable as well. I plan on getting myself a full set of USB-C coloured cables for the upcoming iMac as well. They kind of look like they're available to buy in Chinese gray market places now but I have doubts about how real those specific ones were.



some other Proto accessory examples for reference. Little cable style accessories will usually have data matrix somewhere, which has its serial number more often than not, and sometimes other bits of info. A cool insight into how the sausage is made I guess



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Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)