Corbin writes:
I see power cords and chargers and cables advertised at great prices and they’ll say that they work with tablets and phones, but then they don’t work with my iPad or my iPhone. Why is so hard to get a good deal on a cord and how can I tell if one will work with my phone and tablet?
Corbin, most Android and Windows tablets and phones these days use what’s called a micro-USB connection. Ysou’ll also find the micro- USB port on some cameras and MP3 players. The most common cord you’ll see is one with a USB to micro-USB connection.
This would allow you to plug you device into a computer to transfer files and charge. You can also plug this cord into a USB wall charger like the one below.
Or a USB car charger like this one.
You’ll also see many car charger available with the micro-USB connection.
Apple devices can be charged with USB car chargers and wall chargers as long as you have the correct cable.
Apple devices use a proprietary connector. That means it only works with Apple devices. The current version is Lightning cable to connect its devices.
Before that it was 30-pin dock connector.
Certified Apple connectors will generally cost significantly more than the low-priced cables and chargers available.
Apple takes a very different approach than Android and Windows to products. Android and Windows want their operating systems on as many different devices as possible. Apple prefers only to have it on products they manufacture. It’s important to Apple that every user have the same experience, right down to the cables.
When Apple introduced iOS 7, many people found that cheaper non-Apple certified cables would no longer work with their devices and it’s widely believed that Apple purposely prevents these cheaper cables from working with their devices.
So, if you’re purchasing a cable for your Apple device, you’ll need to make sure it was made specifically for Apple devices.
Hope that clears up any confusion.
~ Cynthia