A growing number of Apple devices are equipped with USB-C or wireless charging capabilities, but many—including iPhones, AirPods, Magic Keyboards, and more—still use the company’s proprietary Lightning port. The trouble is, Apple’s Lightning cables are notoriously flimsy, and they cost more than many third-party cables—even those that Apple has certified will perform just as well as its own cables. If you’re unhappy with the cable that came with your Apple device, or if you just want a backup, we’ve tested dozens of Lightning cables to find the best options for a variety of needs.
Who should get this: Someone who wants a long, durable cable to charge their iPhone and other Lightning-powered devices as fast as is physically possible.
Why it’s great: First and foremost, the Anker PowerLine II USB-C to Lightning Cable (10 feet) is great because it supports the fastest possible charging speeds. When paired with a USB-C port putting out at least 18 watts of power—like those in many of our favorite laptops, power banks, and wall chargers—the PowerLine II can charge an iPhone up to three times as fast as a USB-A–to–Lightning cable. With a sufficiently powerful wall charger, it can bring the battery of an iPhone 8 or newer from completely dead up to 50% in 30 minutes, whereas Apple’s standard cable and charger can get it to just 17% in the same time period (as we found in tests we ran with an iPhone XR). Batteries charge at an inconstant rate, but this figure roughly translates to a full phone charge in an hour, in contrast to three hours.
This cable is MFi-certified, so Apple has confirmed that it will perform optimally (in terms of charging and data-transfer capabilities) with its Lightning-powered devices. Lightning cables that lack this certification—such as the kind you might buy at a gas station—aren’t necessarily much cheaper, and with those, you run the risk of experiencing slower charging or even damaging your devices.
The rubber sheath encasing the PowerLine II is smooth yet grippy, and it’s quite durable, holding up after more than a year of daily wear and tear in our testing. The cable’s housings—the parts that connect the metal plugs to the body of the cable—are the sturdiest and most comfortable to grip of any we’ve tested. Made of a single piece of matte-textured rubber, the housings provide ample room for you to grasp the plug firmly while you’re plugging and unplugging, which is the best way to avoid fraying and breakage. When we plugged both ends of each cable into a variety of devices, we observed minimal wiggling; that stability ensures a solid connection for charging and data transfer.
By Sarah Witman , NY TIMES / WIRECUTTER
