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The only third party brand I trust is Anker.
by peruvian 6y ago
The only third party brand I trust is Anker.
- vuln 6y agoSame. I’ve had few issues with anker and when I do they always send out a replacement immediately. Anker is worth the cost and still cheaper / sturdier than OEM.
- covercash 6y agoSomeone once commented here on HN that Apple engineering departments get boxes of Anker cables delivered all the time since they’re so much better than Apple’s own. I wish I had saved the link.
- ocdtrekkie 6y agoThis is hardly surprising when you consider that Apple's business is selling a phone, where they generally have to throw in a cable so people can charge it, and Anker's business is selling a cable that you decide to buy even though you already had the one Apple gave you for "free". Apple could make a better cable, but it's not worth it to do so.
- pryce 6y agoIt sounds nice at first glance, but I don't think this argument holds up to scrutiny, because it could just as well equally apply to "companies other than Anker" manufacturing cables of this type, and the quality of a great many of those cables is almost notoriously terrible.
- ocdtrekkie 6y agoI'm certainly not saying Apple produces the worst cable. But that Apple only needs to produce a cable that isn't a detriment to the overall product: It usually works and accomplishes it's task. You aren't buying the iPhone based on the quality of the thrown-in charger cable. Whereas Anker has distinguished itself as a company that makes quality cables... by selling quality cables.
- dahfizz 6y agoThat would make sense _except_ apple sells their cables on their website. They have already chosen to make selling cables part of their business. What's more likely is that the quality doesn't matter. Lots of people only care about the official apple brand, so apple can get away with selling an interior product for more money.
- ocdtrekkie 6y agoSure, they'll sell replacement cables, but they make a lot more "free" cables that sell with their phones and tablets. The cost/quality of the cables they package in phones matters to them a lot. They don't care a ton if additional cables sell well or not. And you're absolutely correct that many people will buy Apple official cables just because they're Apple official. But here's the thing: Apple can't go selling premium cables and including cheapy ones in their phone boxes. The Apple brand has to be viewed as premium all the time, so they put a mediocre cable both in the box and sold on their website.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- jbay808 6y agoWell, Apple seems to think strain relief doesn't meet their aesthetic criteria, so that's not surprising.
- foolfoolz 6y agoi thought this was for green efforts that better materials for the environment don’t hold up to physical use as well
- PascLeRasc 6y agoI don't know what it is, but I've never broken a single Lightning cable since I got my first iPhone in 2016. I still have 2 new-in-box cables from upgrades. But a few weeks ago I was picking up a friend and when she got in my car she said "Why do you have the Apple cable? They're so fragile" and immediately tore the strain relief plugging her phone in.
- machello13 6y agoI don't know what it is about certain people — I also have never broken a single cable ever in 14+ years of using Apple stuff.
- christoph 6y agoNever broken an Apple cable (Laptop, Phone, iPad, etc) in 10+ years either. I grew up as a small child regularly pulling out / pushing in the power cable on a ZX Spectrum, which was a really fragile cable. I guess I learnt a lot of respect for handling cables fairly quickly at a young age from that.
- xenospn 6y agoSame. I really have no idea how people break these cables.
- cfeduke 6y agoMy kids taught me how to break them. Before the kids had iPads our family hadn't broken any, now... it's a weekly thing. Children are professionals at destruction.
- saagarjha 6y agoThere are certain adapter combinations that Apple doesn't sell themselves, like USB C to Ethernet. IIRC that one is Belkin.
- FrenchTouch42 6y agoI can confirm that it's not true. You get Apple cables.
- tim333 6y agoHaving been through quite a few Apple and Anker lightning cables I'd say the Ankers last about three times as long in normal use. The plastic frays and breaks on the Apple ones.
- 8fingerlouie 6y agoMaybe i'm just lucky, but i've never had an Apple cable break on me. My original iPad 1 cable still works (and is still used occasionally). Then again, i use my cables for charging, and i never use my devices while charging, so the bending/pulling that destroys most cables never occurs with mine. One thing that does destroy cables though is a 2 year old kid with a fetish for sucking on the lightning end of the cables. My youngest kid did that for 6 months or so, and every cable he sucked on has a visibly corroded 3rd pin.
- wiseleo 6y agoAlgolia's search is pretty good ;) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18424630 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18424630
- joshstrange 6y agoSame here, nothing but high quality cables (and battery packs as well DashCams and robot vacuums, etc) from them and with a wide array of options that I can trust. It was so disappointing when I needed some 90 degree lightning, USB C, and micro-usb cables but they didn't offer any (this may have changed, it's been about a year or so).
- baddox 6y agoI've also never had problems with any of my several well-used Amazon-branded Lightning cables. But then again, I've never actually had any problems with the supposedly fragile Apple Lightning cables either.
- caconym_ 6y agoYeah, they seem decent. My partner is always losing cables and ordering the cheapest ones on Amazon, and the thing I hate most about them is that they always make the whole room smell like I dunked my head in a bucket of kerosene. She ordered a chair that had the same issue (Wirecutter approved!) and a jump rope, and who knows what else. Am I just imagining it? I seriously miss the days when I could expect the products I buy to not smell like you'll get cancer just from looking at them wrong.
- ficklepickle 6y agoYou need to leave them outside for a couple days to off-gas. It is not just you.
- post_break 6y agoAdd Choetech and aukey to that list. I have tons of their devices and they have the same trust level and quality.