iPhone
cables
are special iPhone accessories that come in different shapes and styles. Those
cables
attach to the
iPhone
through either the dockport located at the bottom or through the 3.5mm iPhone audioport located at the top corner of the
iPhone.
Depending on the type of cable you buy, you will get different results. For example, not all
USB cables
transmit audio, or not all
USB cables
transmit power to charge the iPhone battery. You can also have an
iPhone sync cable
that is only capable of transmitting data.
On the other hand, some
iPhone cables
allow many interesting features. In this page I will cover the following iPhone cables:
iPhone dock cables are standard cables that connect iPhone accesories to the iPhone through the dock. One side connects to the iPhone dock port, while the other side can vary in shape.
The dock portion of those cables has two types.
The firsttype which i don't like is the push-pull style. This cable comes from Apple with every iPhone. This style is difficult to unsnap due to its short height and the lack of a snapping feature on the side.
The second type, which I like, has two buttons on the side that allows you to squeeze to unlatch from the iPhone Dock.
Most of the time you will be using the iPhone dock with an iPhone usb cable to charge your iPhone. This cable has a dock connection on one side and a USB connection on the other side. This usb side can be connected to any USB port or usb power supply.
Some of those cables have adjustable length where you can extract or retract to adjust their length.
From the iPhone dock, you can access the iPhone video through AV (Audio Visual) or
component video cables.
iPhone AV cables
have 3 RCA connections, two of them are for stereo sound (left & Right), while the third Yellow connection is the
composite video cable
.
The
iPhone component cable
has 5 connections in total. Three connections are for video, and two are for audio left and right.
iPhone Component cables are recommended for best picture display on your TV if your TV has component video ports.
Did you ever have an instance where you need an extra length for a dock cable to reach your video or audio device?
An iPhone dock extension cable allow you to do that.
This iPhone cable is handy when you have a docking station or an iPhone accessory that requires you to remove the iPhone from its case.
Using this dock extension cable, you can use your iPhone accessory without removing the iPhone case.
iPhone Cables Through the Audio Port:
The iPhone audio port is not a standard one. If you look closely at a standard audio jack, you will notice that it has two strips and three metal connections. This allow stereo sound through a standard audio port.
An iPhone jack can have three strips and four metal connections as depicted in the picture above. This forth connection gives access to the iPhone microphone.
The iPhone audio port is backward compatible with the standard audio jacks of course. It allows you to access audio from both your iPod application, any audio application, or audio from phone calls. Furthermore, the ability to access the microphone.
Those iPhone cables plugs to the iPhone audio port and allow you to connect any normal headphone. Those cables use the iPhone audio features which allow you to answer phone calls or even record a memo without holding your iPhone.
With
iPhone headphone adapter cables
you can also control your music from the cable itself. For example, play and pause a song, you can turn the volume up or down, or you can skip or forward a song. Moreover, you can answer and end phone calls all from the cable.
There are two types of those audio cables. Some of them are straight 3.5mm to 3.5mm connection. While others have a 3.5mm connection on one side and two rca connection on the other side.
Audio cables allow you to connect your iPhone to an external audio amplifier, stereo system or external speakers like your car if equipped with aux input.
Some audio cables are just adapters or
audio extension. Some of those cables are designed with the older iPhone 2G in mind. The recessed audio port of the iPhone 2G prevented generic headphones or speakers to be connected to the audio port. With some
iPhone adapters
you can override the audio port recess issue.
Audio splitters cables allow you to connect two or more
headphones
to a single audio port. This is cool when both you and your friend want to listen to a song or watch a movie through one of the iPhone movie players for example.