Do any of you still remember this accessory that Apple started selling when it introduced the iPhone 15 lineup? This accessory is called the USB-C to Lightning Adapter. You can get it from Apple for $29, and the purpose of this adapter is that you can connect your existing Lightning accessories to any of the iPhone 15 models as those models replaced the Lightning connector with USB-C. This adapter supports charging, data, and audio, and Apple has listed all of its Mac/iPhone/iPad models with USB-C as compatible with this adapter. So what else can you use it for?
As mentioned before, you can use it to charge your iPhone 15 or iPad with a USB-C connector with an existing Lightning cable. You can even use it to charge your MacBook with a USB-C connector with the same Lightning cable although it won’t be the best solution as you may experience slower charging speeds than directly plugging a USB-C cable into a USB-C port on your MacBook.
Image: Nick Soong
Image: Nick Soong
Another use of it is pairing and charging an Apple Pencil (1st generation) with an iPad (10th generation). Previously, you would only need a dedicated USB-C to Apple Pencil Adapter for $9 to pair/charge that Apple Pencil with that Apple. Although it has been included with newer shipments of that Apple Pencil, you’d still have to buy that adapter separately if you already own that Apple Pencil. (It won’t be included when you purchase an iPad 10 as well.)
All you would need to do is plug the Lightning connector of that Apple Pencil directly into the adapter as you would with a previous generation base iPad and you’ll be good to go after following the prompts.
Image: Nick Soong
Image: Nick Soong
I also tested the adapter with an iPad mini 6 to see whether the Apple Pencil 1 will work, and as expected it will not work as that Pencil was not compatible with that iPad model to begin with. That iPad is compatible with only the 2nd generation and USB-C models. I also attached the USB-C end of the Lightning cable to the USB-C port on the Apple Pencil (USB-C) to see what would happen; however, it didn’t recognize that Pencil. I would need to use a USB-C cable to pair that Pencil.
Image: Nick Soong
Image: Nick Soong
So after doing some observations, spending more for the USB-C to Lightning adapter may be worth it as you’ll get a lot more compatibility with other Apple devices that have USB-C ports besides just pairing/charging an Apple Pencil 1 with an iPad 10.
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