Lightning

The now infamous Lightning connector was first introduced on September 12, 2012. After that, the Lightning connector appeared on all of Apple’s mobile iOS series of products. That uniformity was only broken recently by the newer devices carrying USB Type C. Lightning connectors have a authentication chip inside their connectors which insure that only cables, accessories, and devices that Apple authorizes can be used with the device. Apple charges a fee (the amount of which is unknown and varies) to certify and provide the authentication chip in order for outside companies to produce accessories that have the Lightning connector. These certified products can be identified by looking at the MFi certification.