Unwrap a New Apple Device? Stock Up on Extra Certified Lightning Cables for as Little as $6
If you unwrapped an Apple product today it likely came with one of the company's first-party Lightning cables, but having an extra on hand is always a good idea, so you can place it in other rooms in your house, in your car, or in a bag when you travel.
For that reason, now's a good time to shop for third-party Lightning cables that are cheaper than Apple's own accessory, but still Made For iPhone certified to guarantee their quality.
One of the best examples of this is well-known and reliable third-party accessory maker Anker, which has a 3ft / 0.9m Lightning Cable for just $5.99 on Amazon. Apple's comparable product, the Lightning to USB Cable, sells for $19.00 on Apple.com.
Additionally, this holiday Anker has a combo promotion with the Lightning Cable. If you purchase the $5.99 cable (or other qualifying products), you can save 10 percent on either the Anker Elite Dual Port 24W USB Travel Wall Charger ($9.53, down from $10.59) or the Anker PowerCore 26800 Portable Charger ($55.79, down from $61.99). Anker has other cables, chargers, and power banks on its Amazon storefront.
Many of Anker's accessories have been certified under Apple's MFi program, which helps consumers identify products that are assured to work well with iPhone, iPad, and iPod. Shoppers should keep an eye out for MFi certifications when shopping for products like Lightning cables, and be wary of counterfeit accessories that are somewhat common on Amazon and could potentially harm their devices.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
Popular Stories
Apple released iOS 16.3 in late January following nearly six weeks of beta testing. The software update is available for the iPhone 8 and newer, and while it is a relatively minor update, it still includes a handful of new features, changes, and bug fixes.
Below, we've recapped new features in iOS 16.3, including support for physical security keys as a two-factor authentication option for...
Apple has discussed selling a new top-of-the-line iPhone alongside the Pro and Pro Max models in 2024 at the earliest, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Based on this timeframe, the device would be part of the iPhone 16 lineup or later.
In a September 2022 edition of his weekly "Power On" newsletter, Gurman said there was "potential" for an iPhone 15 Ultra to replace the iPhone 15 Pro...
Online retailer TigerDirect has slashed pricing on the M1 iPad Air in several colors, offering the base 64GB configuration for just $313.99 in Purple and Pink.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with TigerDirect. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
That's a savings of 48% compared to Apple's normal $599.00...
A new version of the Mac Studio with the "M2 Ultra" chip is unlikely to arrive in the near future, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
In the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter, Gurman explained that since the upcoming Apple silicon Mac Pro is "very similar in functionality to the Mac Studio," Apple may wait until the release of M3- or M4-series chips to update the machine, or...
Google's Chromium developers are working on an experimental web browser for iOS that would break Apple's browser engine restrictions, The Register reports.
The experimental browser, which is being actively pursued by developers, uses Google's Blink engine. Yet if Google attempted to release it on the App Store, it would not pass Apple's App Review process.
Apple's App Store rules dictate...
Apple's next device with an Apple silicon chip may not be a Mac or an iPad, but rather an advanced external display, according to recent reports.
The display, which is rumored to arrive this year, is expected to sit somewhere between the $1,599 Studio Display and the $4,999 Pro Display XDR – but more exact information about the device's positioning and price point is as yet unknown. While ...
This week saw the launch of the final product from Apple's January hardware announcements, with the second-generation HomePod making its way into customers' hands.
Other news and rumors this week included signs of an interim iOS 16.3.1 bug fix update in the works as we await a fresh round of beta testing for a more significant iOS 16.4 update, a report on the potential dangers of using...
Today is the official launch day for the second-generation HomePod that was introduced in January, and we picked one up to compare it to the original HomePod that Apple discontinued in 2021.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Design wise, the second-generation HomePod looks a lot like the first-generation model, featuring the same rounded design and acoustic mesh...
Top Rated Comments
I wish the warranty were longer; over time, any cable can experience strain and stop working. But for what you pay, the Anker stuff is a very good value.
Jonathan Ive is not only manish about "thinness" of MacBooks and IOS-devices, he is also manish about "cable-thinness":
I had to replace nearly ALL original apple-charging cables of IOS-devices by now because the exterior isolation of the cables was more and more broken and fell apart. these important cables are too thin, the copper core as well as the outer isolation!
cables from Belkin, Anker or the very well done Lindy (swiss-made) are made for eternity. maybe also other third parties, but personally I have only practical experience with these three.
they are lightyears in front of apple regarding quality:
always much better and reliable also for all-day use (not only to look at them in apple-stores, but in daily use) , never more expensive, but nearly always even less costly. Same for Thunderbolt cables (just bought some from OWC, also lightyeras better and less pricy than the orignal low-quality made by apple) , adaptors, and other things.
original apple cables are nothing but garbage in comparison to many third-party cables.
BTW: same for the original 60 or 75 W chargers for Macbooks and macbook Pros:
the thin cable between the charger and the books is not at all well isolated - so one day the isolation begins to fall into little parts. also because of the too thin and not mechanically protecting isolation the too thin copper core breaks - even if the isolation is not yet gone. you can feel it because when half-broken this part becomes more and more hot as a result of multplication of electrical resistance) It is a shame that millions of users have to pollute the environment just because of well functioning chargers, which have a not-replacable, bad designed low-voltage cable part.... not regarding the financial side (apple AC/DC chargers are very expensive) and the danger by undetected short-circuit (might set something on fire)....
That being said, agree with above. Anker makes good stuff.