We’re pretty big fans of the concept of the Plusus minimal USB-Charging cable Lifelink announced last year, as well as the ultra-stylish Lifestar cables announced in August. The cables are pretty grand in concept, and once delivered promise to be pretty great, the problem is, most customers are still waiting for the Lifelink and customers who pre-ordered the Lifestar cables were almost immediately advised of production delays. We approached PlusUs for a run-down on what’s causing the issues and what’s being done to ameliorate the effects.
Plusus have advised that the issues with the Lifelink was an engineering issue with the microUSB connector. The team wanted to ensure that the tiny cable (it’s a 2.5mm cable rather than the usual 4mm) used in the Lifelink, which allows the cable to slip into your wallet, could still deliver a 2 amp charge. They also wanted to ensure that quality control in production met their requirements.
The other issue which affected both the Lifestar and the Lifelink cables was a lack of Lightning connectors in the lead-up to the launch of the iPhone 6/6 Plus. Plusus combined their production runs of the cables and offering microUSB and Lightning versions of both products meant that one could not proceed without the other. The fact that 70% of their orders were for Lightning adapters meant that the much lower quantity of microUSB cables being manufactured, did not warrant their own production run.
The good news is that the Lightning adapters are now in stock and production is imminent. We’re simply waiting for the production run to be completed. We’re hoping to receive word of prodcution dates and then delivery dates soon.
I personally am holding onto my order of a Lifelink cable ordered in January, because I love the concept. It’s also easy to throw stones, without being involved in the actual manufacturing process yourself. I personally am happy that they are ensuring a quality product, which in the end is what I pay for. I wait with bated breath for a dispatched order notification any day now.
