These adapters were required after Apple moved to Lightning from the old 30-pin connector which had dedicated pins for HDMI output. As the USB 2.0 link used with Lightning does not have the ...

The current interface is USB Type C, which superseded Apple's own 30-pin and Lightning connectors ... a Type C-to-3.5mm adapter is used, which contains a digital-to-analog converter.

Lightning is one end of the cable, with USB Type A at the ... Lightning is digital, whereas Apple's previous 30-pin interface was both analog and digital. Although adapters let 30-pin cables ...