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Hands On: AmazonBasics Apple Certified Lightning to USB Cable
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MacNN Staff
Join Date: Jul 2012
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We used to have all these old iPod 30-pin style cables and yet could never find one when we needed it. Now we have a building full of Apple Lightning cables and it's the same thing except slightly worse: our cables are wearing out. At £25 a pop here in the UK or $29, we counted the cable as a bonus when we had to buy an iPhone 6. It's expensive to buy a Lightning cable from Apple that way but it's expensive buying them from Apple in any way so we finally caved and tried an AmazonBasics Apple Certified Lightning to USB Cable 6ft (1.8m) in black.
The reason it took some caving is that we've heard stories of cables not working and it isn't a bargain if something is cheaper but doesn't work. That's the Android way of doing things. Yet Amazon's cables are certified by Apple and anecdotally we've been hearing good things so we went for it. Plus we have two official Apple cables in particular that are so frayed that they look like they'll start a fire soon.
Consequently we can now add to the anecdotal evidence: we are very pleased with this cable. It's hard to get very, very excited about a wire but we went in to this hoping that we'd get a decent equivalent to the Apple Lightning cables we'd been buying and damaging. We have got that but we've got a little more.
This cable is tougher than the Apple one which is in all ways but one a good thing: we are trying to take better care of all our cables now yet we reckon this one will last the longest. Just slightly thicker cabling means it feels stronger and sturdier, it feels harder wearing. It is also definitely too thick to fit in our Füz Designs stand and that's a problem. However, the Apple Lightning cable we got with our iPhone 6 is just a shade too thick for that stand as well so it looks like it's the stand that's going to lose out in the end.
For now, the AmazonBasics Apple Certified Lightning to USB Cable is in our bag next to the Anker E7 battery and we drag it out whenever we need a charge on the run or we hanker to plug Apple Music in to our car stereo. This is happening an awful lot.
AmazonBasics Apple Certified Lightning to USB Cable 6ft (1.8m) costs $9 and is available, startlingly, on Amazon.
Who is AmazonBasics Cable for:
We'd go so far as to say that anyone should get this the next time they need a Lightning cable -
Who is AmazonBasics Cable not for:
It is in black which clashes terribly with our white ones. Plus it is thicker than Apple's so that can be a problem for certain iPhone stands where you run the cable through the innards.
-William Gallagher ( @WGallagher)
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Fresh-Faced Recruit
Join Date: Aug 2015
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I can't say that I agree with this review. I have 6 or 7 of the AmazonBasic lightning cables in various lengths. The 6-inch cables are wonderful for keeping a travel bag organized. The quality of the cables, however, leaves much to be desired. I have two cables in which the cable at the lightning cable has become frayed. Whilst they still work, I frequently have to flip the cable to get it to function properly. I have a third cable in which the plastic housing split down the middle (oddly enough NOT along the fusion seem) and broke away. Whilst that cable is still functional, the leads from the cable are exposed.
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Senior User
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: pacific northwest
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If you still want to use genuine Apple cables, then try MacSales/OWC. They sell them in bulk packaging for $12, http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Apple/MD818ZMA/. They also sell NewerTech USB to Lightning cables in different lengths and colors starting at $9. NewerTech is a longtime provider of authorized Apple accessories and has a very good track record. I don't know if they ship to the UK. It might be helpful (and truthful) if you actually read some of the comments from buyers on Amazon's page before making a statement about how good they are. Customers are saying the cable isn't recognized and one photo shows a broken cable. Yes, Apple cables do break but how long have you had yours?
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Managing Editor
Join Date: Jul 2012
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We're coming back to re-evaluate in a month. I'm not the reviewer, but anecdotally, my kids plug in their devices all the time with the Amazon cables and they've lasted a lot longer than the Apple ones did.
We'll see how William's run is.
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Senior User
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: pacific northwest
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Does anyone know who actually manufacturers the Amazon cables?
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Seattle
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I've got a a pair of Amazon cables that I like, in part because they're easier to grip and remove than the Apple version. But there are reviews on Amazon suggesting the company has lowered the quality of the cabling, hence dwhicker' complaint. I do know that the cable on mine, picked up used at a thrift store, looks thicker than that on Amazon's product page. When MacNN repeats this review in a month, it might look into that issue.
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Author of Untangling Tolkien and Chesterton on War and Peace
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Managing Editor
Join Date: Jul 2012
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I have a suspicion it may be multiple manufacturers. My cable ends aren't quite the same as William's.
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Senior User
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Prince George, BC, Canada
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Monoprice.com - even cheaper, and (generally) better for cables.
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Fresh-Faced Recruit
Join Date: Aug 2015
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I bought two Amazon cables when we got our iPhone 5s. After my wife's apple cable frayed, we replaced it with an Amazon Basic cable. Four months later her Amazon cable was damaged. Amazon refunded our money under warranty and we ordered another Amazon cable. I haven't had any problems with the two Amazon cables I use with my iPhone. She does tend to sit on the couch with her phone plugged in, so that may be leading to increased wear at the lightning plug.
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Dedicated MacNNer
Join Date: Nov 2003
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My Other is hard on cables. She's constantly stealing mine, losing them, or returning them cracked, frayed, and/or otherwise held together with any random kind of tape she had handy (but never electrical tape, mind you). I bought a few Amazon Basics cables and my problems have entirely disappeared. The best feature of these Amazon Basics cables is that the Lightning end is slightly larger than the standard Apple cable end and does not fit the port of her OtterBox phone case. She's on her own now.
for Amazon Basics!
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Senior User
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Prince George, BC, Canada
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LOL on the 'other' being hard on cables. That's my situation here too. Maybe it's the engineer in me or that I dealt with cables for years playing in bands and working audio boards, etc. but it seems that most people just don't understand the bend-radius stuff or the mechanics of what is going on inside that cable-end.
The others in my household are cable-nightmares! When we go down to the States, I often order several and pick them up at our mail-box down there. Since the Monoprice ones are only a few dollars each (and, as good or better than the originals), it's not a huge deal. And, some of Monoprice's cables (like HDMI ones) are SO far superior to even the high-end ones you pay a lot for at retail stores, it's almost laughable.
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