We are all told to read the fine print when we are about to sign a legal document like a car loan or other very important contracts. The same should be done when we are buying accessories for our Apple products, especially when it comes to products that charge our iPhones, iPads, and Apple Watches.
There are great deals out there for power cords, plugs, and wireless chargers. Everything I buy must be MFi certified. Usually, on Amazon, it will state MFi certified in the item’s title, but sometimes like on a car loan contract we have to look at the fine print to make sure this item is MFi certified. But does that really matter and what exactly does MFi mean?
MFi originally stood for “Made for iPod” but now applies to all iOS devices (these are Apple’s devices and accessories that run on the iOS operating system). The MFi program covers various device connectors, as well as Airplay support. Companies joining the MFi program must pass certification tests to be able to use MFi-related logos on their product packaging.
Think of car repairs for a moment. I admit I do not know how to repair a car but I do know there are OEM parts that are made by your car manufacturer and the same part manufactured by another company. A spark plug for my current car that is made by the car manufacturer at the time of this blog post writing is $17.33. If you go to napa.com which happens to be the primary sponsor of my favorite Nascar driver, Chase Elliott, a non-OEM plug is $11.49. So I could save $4 per plug if I got the one from Napa. That might work well for most folks, but since the savings is not that great I might have more peace of mind if I bought the OEM plug from my car manufacturer. That is how I look at MFi. While MFi products are not always made by Apple itself, they are certified through the Apple MFi program.
So the bottom line is it is up to you. Most MFi accessories are not that much more if any more than non-MFi. This makes me feel better plugging my iOS device into a product that is MFi certified. For more information visit https://mfi.apple.com.