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The iPhone 6's Lightning cable may be reversible at both ends

The iPhone 6's Lightning cable may be reversible at both ends

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Apple is apparently preempting the new reversible USB standard with its own symmetrical design

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Sonny Dickson, the man who provided the sapphire glass screen rumored to feature at the front of Apple's upcoming iPhone 6, has a new hardware revelation about the unannounced new phone: a reversible USB cable. Thanks to its symmetrical design, the Lightning connector is already capable of being plugged into an iPhone or iPad in any orientation, and now Apple's apparently addressing the other end of the cable as well. The thinned-out middle section of the USB plug is said to have contacts on both sides, making it possible to connect without having it "the right way" up.

Such reversible USB cables can already be found on sale from third-party accessory makers, plus there's the imminent Type-C USB standard that will shrink the size of the universal connector everyone uses while also making it symmetrical. Still, it would be good to have Apple's official Lightning cable becoming that little bit more user-friendly in the meantime, and the Cupertino company has already filed a patent application for a design that matches Dickson's pictures.

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Check out MKBHD's 'iPhone Sapphire 6 Explained'