Adrian Kingsley-Hughes for ZDNet:
The market for third-party Lightning cables for the iPhone is massive, and it’s growing by the day. In fact, I don’t think a week goes by when I’m not sent a pitch for some new “wonder cable” that sounds too good to be true.
In fact, the market is now getting so crowded that companies are resorting to out and out lies to try to make their cable stand out.
Here are some iPhone cable myths that are simply not true.
• The indestructible cable
• Super-fast charging cables
• The cable Apple supplies is poor
MacDailyNews Take: We use, and swear by, Anker Powerline Lightning Cables. They are Apple MFi-Certified, less expensive than Apple’s Lightning cables, and we’ve had only success using them.
I don’t know about cable myths but I do know Apple’s cables don’t last long even if they are made out of green materials.
Like MDN I use Anker cables and without really thinking about it I always seem to get White. I assume it’s because Apple have conditioned me that way.
(I think I went with Anker after reading reviews from iMore and Wirecutter.)
Agreed @FizzyPanda. From experience, especially when used in cars, the original Apple cables seems to break below the lightning connector (you can always tell because it starts operating only if you reverse the connection.)
So far no such issues with the Anker alternatives especially the woven nylon covered ones which seem really strong in comparison.
I’ve used Monoprice cables. Good quality. Different colors available which is nice if you have multiple cables in one location.
The cables Apples supplies stink. The quality is very poor. Doesn’t hold a candle to what Anker sells. The connection between the connector and the wire on an Apple cable fails far faster than it does with Anker cables.
I’ve been using the same Amazon Basics cable for 3.5 years. It’s been a great cable.
I’ll stand by anything made by Syncwire https://www.syncwire.com/ as they make quality cables at an affordable price. (I also want to also state that I have absolutely nothing to do with the company.) Their cables are the best that I’ve seen and they come with a really decent warranty which is more than I can say about other companies.
Likewise with Micro USB cables I’ve had so called “quality” Chinese owned and manufactured cables last about six months and then pack it in. Not so the Syncwire version. It just lasts and lasts.