Were you interested in Znaps, MagSafe adapter for Lightning connectors that we posted yesterday? You might want to hold off on ordering them. There’s a big possibility that patent issues could derail them from being delivered as promised.
Nothing against my wonderful and very intelligent colleague Rob LeFebvre, who got excited about Znaps in a post yesterday, but I’m just saying, you might want to be skeptical here. Znaps is promising a $9 adaptor for any Lightning cable that makes it fully magnetic… and, just like Lightning, fully reversible.
“Reversible” is the feature you might want to be concerned about.
As I have previously reported elsewhere, Apple has extensively patented MagSafe technology… which is exactly why you don’t see this kind of magnetic connector everywhere. Technically, it’s not a difficult thing to implement. Legally, though? It’s a potential nightmare.
Why? Essentially, what is protected in Apple’s MagSafe patent is reversibility. In Apple’s patent, the magnetic tip of a MagSafe cable can be attached in two different ways: right side up or upside down (although visually, they are identical). Any similarly reversible magnetic cable automatically violates Apple’s patent.
And that’s the problem. Although Znaps claims that they’ve done all their due diligence on patents, their design is reversible, which falls afoul of Apple’s patent… and, I would think, would result in a call from Apple’s lawyers.
This probably isn’t enough to kill Znaps, but it’s enough to change the design, after it is funded. Which means what you’re signing up for, when you sign up for the MagSafe of Lightning cables (or cable adapters), is a design that might very likely change after you give them your money.
And if you think that hasn’t happened before? Let me assure you it very much has.
In other words, here’s the smart bet. I want Znaps as much as you do, but you should wait, to see if Apple doesn’t come crashing down on top of them.
Read our original report on Znaps here.
John Brownlee is a writer for Fast Company, and a contributing writer here at CoM. He has also written for Wired, Playboy, Boing Boing, Popular Mechanics, VentureBeat, and Gizmodo. He lives in Boston with his wife and two parakeets. You can follow him here on Twitter.
19 responses to “Why you should hold off ordering that ‘MagSafe for iPhone’ adapter”
A $9 adapter for a $39 cord of which I need 3. Nightstand, car, office. Ridiculously ridiculous.
Actually, you only need one adapter. You carry the adapter with you.. on a keychain. That’s why they didn’t just make a cable with the magnetic tip but instead made it adapt to other cables. Also, $39 + $9 adapter. The heft is on Apple’s side isn’t it? I would call Apple’s pricing ridiculous.
Once you’re switching it from cord to cord the purpose is kind of defeated. Just sell me the cord part seperately.
The purpose is to be able to charge without possibly damaging the cable in any event. How does switching between charging cables defeat this purpose?
I’m not carrying anything with me on a keychain you nerd. Hope they make another adapter for your pocket protector! I’m going to go get some vagina now, let me know if you ever want to know what it feels like.
Yeah, it’s a f-king keychain. Believe it or not, everyone has keychains. How is it anyway tied to being a nerd? If you’re willing to spend $40 for an extra non-standard cable that won’t work anywhere else, that’s fine by me.
I hate that it seems Apple has thrown Magsafe & Thunderbolt out the window for USB C. While USB C is nice you are back to risking your laptop again to cord issues. So only one cable connection on your laptop but you can’t charge & have any other connection. :(
I don’t believe Apple has thrown MagSafe away. There is simply no evidence of this. They introduced one MacBook that uses a different port. The iPod line has been like that for years. USB-C on the new MacBook is like the headphone jack on the iPod Shuffle; they needed a multi-function port to save space, but where there is enough space they use the better connection (i.e. Lightning for iPods, MagSafe for MacBooks). MagSafe isn’t dead until it’s not available any more and I don’t think that’s happening anytime soon.
“There is simply no evidence of this. They introduced one MacBook that uses a different port.”
That is evidence.
That’s evidence of a new port. Nothing more.
He’s right though, it’s Apple. The first time iMac they released didn’t have a floppy drive, then all others followed suit. The first Macbook Air had no optical drive, then all others followed suit. It’s happened with removable batteries, replaceable RAM and they’re making the switch from Hard Drives to Solid State now. It’s how they work, it’s very likely this will permeate through the rest of their line.
You’re right, with the exception of the floppy drive (it deserved to die and nobody misses it), you list many good examples of Apple making sweeping changes across the board. I’m not saying Apple will never get rid of MagSafe, I was responding to the original commenter who feels they already have. That’s just not true. They currently sell six models of MacBooks, five of them have MagSafe (and ThunderBolt).
The defining factor that will save Znaps is that it is not a CABLE. Znaps is an adapter that attaches to other cables. This is exactly why they had designed it as an attachable adapter, NOT a cable. Is Znaps reversible? yes. Is it a cable? NO. This is similar to a passthrough lightning dock that uses MFI cables to power them. legal loop hole exploited to the finest!
Actually I skimmed through Apple’s patent and the patent doesn’t necessarily mention cable. They mention “connector” and “plug”…. which an adapter has as well. Which is rather disappointing. I would very much like to see this project through.
I believe that Apple’s patent on the MagSafe plug is currently filed only in the U.S., not in Canada, making it legal to operate through the distribution from Canada.
But it could prevent them from sending them to the States.
A small part of the patent being replicated doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re infringing on apple’s IP. Think of all the 3rd party lightning cable manufacturers… all they have to do is apply for MFI licensing through apple to avoid any headaches. And even if they don’t, think about all the non-MFI certified cables you can buy online, buy at gas stations etc.? AC 2 prong plugs are reversible, that doesn’t mean those manufacturers are infringing, so why would these guys?
No, they won’t get sued. They’ll pay the licensing fees for being an Apple Accessory Distributor and get Apple’s seal of approval. Easy-peasy.
The good news is that the patient Apple has will expire in a few more years, about 2020 I believe.
It’s ridiculous that such simple patients are granted, like this it really hold the entire electronics industry back in the 1980s.
Apple has shown no willingness to exploit the patent, thus it should be void.
They could easily made this available for licensing but instead don’t even use it on the vast majority of their own products.
I wonder why that is?
Even is Apple files a lawsuit, hopefully these guys will just fulfil their existing orders and disband the company. They can then reopen in a few years once the patent has expired.