Per rumors, Apple yesterday alongside the iPad mini, a revamped iMac, refreshed Mac mini and the new 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro also took the wraps off some new Lightning accessories that will be of note to people who want to show off their presentations, apps, games and more on devices that accept HDMI or VGA input.
Each adapter commands a steep $49 price and is available now from the online Apple Store, with shipping estimates already slipped to a 2-3 week backorder. Apple also put on sale a more powerful USB iPad charger that now provides twelve watts of power instead of ten, helping with faster charge times…
The $49 Lightning Digital AV Adapter connects to your Lightning-equipped iOS device (currently, the iPad mini, iPhone 5, fifth-gen iPod touch and fourth-gen iPad). The accessory doesn’t support the latest iPod nano with Lightning I/O. The other end goes to your HDMI device, like an external display, digital projector and other gear.
Bad news: video mirroring is supported only in 720p, though video playback is 1080p.
Here’s what Apple’s Lightning to VGA adapter looks like.
Here’s a blurb from Apple:
Put your slides, movies, photos, and everything else on your iPad with Retina display, iPad mini, iPhone 5, or iPod touch (5th generation) screen on an even bigger screen: your HDTV.
The Lightning Digital AV Adapter mirrors exactly what you see on iPad with Retina display, iPad mini, or iPhone 5, so that everyone in the room can enjoy it on your widescreen TV, video projection screen, or other HDMI-compatible display.
The Lightning Digital AV Adapter also supports video out for iPad with Retina display, iPad mini, iPhone 5, or iPod touch (5th generation).
This end goes into a last-century VGA device
The $49 Lightning to VGA Adapter has the same features as its HDMI counterpart, but it connects to your projector or display using the VGA adapter.
The two adapters aims to mitigate problems arising from the lack of video out support when connecting legacy 30-pin accessories to Lightning-enabled iOS devices using Apple’s Lightning to 30-pin adapters.
Also available right now: a new $19 12W USB Charger for the iPad, a boost over the previous 10W charger.
Now, about those prices: $49 is way to steep a price point for a video out dongle, isn’t it?