iPhone charger, Anker Lightning to USB Cable (3ft)

What customers say about iPhone charger, Anker Lightning to USB Cable (3ft)?

1. 1,155 of 1,181 people found the following review helpful

   
   Can this Anker cable compete with Apple’s own?, June 26, 2014

   By 

   PhotoGraphics (United States) –
   
     
   
     

   This review is from: iPhone charger, Anker Lightning to USB Cable (3ft) for iPhone 6s 6 Plus 5s 5c 5, iPad Pro Air 2, iPad mini 4 3 2, iPod touch 5th gen / 6th gen / nano 7th gen [Apple MFi Certified] (White) (Electronics)

   [Please see my photos for a comprehensive overview of how Anker’s cable compares]

   There are only a small number of options for cables and accessories that fit the Apple Lightning connector. It is well known that Apple has broken with protocol with this connector and incorporates a chip which, among other things, requires that only adapters sold under the Apple brand or those which Apple as “certified” be used. Certified? A simple way of defining certified is that if a non-Apple seller wants their product to work with a newer generation iPhone, iPad or certain other devices that they pay a fee to Apple to get a compatibility code that they can use to register their adapter. That makes it a little hard for smaller companies to compete price-wise against Apple.

   But yet there are a few of those smaller companies that are brave enough to compete on Apple’s terms and offer accessories equal to or sometimes slightly superior to Apple itself.

   Anker has jumped into the fray and has joined that small band of accessory sellers to offer a cable that is truly compatible with Apple Lightning devices. How does it compare?

   So far I have only tested 3 Lightning cables sourced from reputable companies … Apple itself, Amazon Basics and now Anker.
   The Apple cable sells for $19.00 and is rarely if ever discounted. The Amazon cable, like most of their Basics line, is also sold at a fixed price which for this cable is $13.99. Anker’s cable was selling for $9.95 at the time I got it but Anker does have a tendency to adjust their prices from time to time (the latest I checked it was $11.99

   Visually they look very similar, Apple-white of course. The body of the three cables are similar to each other, the Apple and the Anker feeling identical while the Amazon cable is quite hefty at about twice as thick. It is at the ends that each has charted its own course and where the biggest differences lie.

   While the Lightning and USB connectors themselves are identical, of course, which they have to be for compatibility, the molded caps are by far the biggest difference between the three brands. The Amazon caps are massive in comparison, certain to create major issues when attempting to use that cable with certain cases or receptacle connectors that are recessed. While the Apple cap is just barely larger than the connector itself the Amazon cap is approximately twice as thick at the lightning side and gigantic at the UBS side. The Anker caps are much closer in size to the Apple with the Lightning end being fractionally thicker (it makes no sense why they would choose to do this) and the USB end also being thicker but appearing to be about normal for USB cables.

   Usually the length of the end cap isn’t a concern but it is worth noting here that again at the Lightning side Amazon’s is much
   larger than the other two brands and does not have a strain relief which could cause the cable to break at that point. Anker has an adequate but Apple’s is twice as long. The exact same thing is true about the strain reliefs at the USB end.

   So, who is the winner? There is no contest that Apple wins. Yes it is expensive but it is just plain better and you are buying the confidence that Apple themselves is certifying that it will be compatible. However, and this is a big however, Anker comes in at second place in a contest that is almost too close to call. Unless you have a situation where the Anker won’t physically fit your case there is no other reason not to consider it an exact replacement for the Apple-branded cable … at about half the price. As for the Amazon private label brand? It loses on every point and comes in dead last.

   This review is based on the OEM cable that was packed with my iPad compared to cables provided for testing by Amazon and Anker. The opinions expressed are my own.

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2. 328 of 353 people found the following review helpful

   
   This is a very good Lightning cable for a good price and with an 18 month warranty!, June 14, 2014

   By 

   JJCEO (Greenwood, Indiana) –
   
     
   
     

   This review is from: iPhone charger, Anker Lightning to USB Cable (3ft) for iPhone 6s 6 Plus 5s 5c 5, iPad Pro Air 2, iPad mini 4 3 2, iPod touch 5th gen / 6th gen / nano 7th gen [Apple MFi Certified] (White) (Electronics)

   

   Customer Video Review Length:: 4:13 Mins

   This is a nice MFI certified Lightning cable from Anker that is 3 feet long. In my video I tested it and compared it to an original Apple Lightning cable and they both are virtually identical. The Anker cable performed very well in charging my devices and I show measuring the current while charging with an Apple iPad Air charger, and Anker charger and an Anker high capacity battery.

   In addition I used the Anker cable to connect to my computer and my smart devices synced with iTunes perfectly without any errors. This cable is directly compatible with IOS7. It features nicely designed strain reliefs on the cable to protect the stress points and provide a long life. It even comes with an 18 month warranty.

   The wire is actually a little more heavy duty than the original Apple cable. In all of my testing the Anker cable allowed my devices to charge at a higher current than the Apple cable. I measured all of the voltages and current during my testing.

   This is a good cable with a good price and an 18 month warranty. I rated it at 5 stars and I recommend it to you.

   I was supplied a sample for test and evaluation. A review was not promised to the supplier in exchange for the sample but I stated that if I provided a review that it would be fair and honest.

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3. 118 of 139 people found the following review helpful

   
   Better than Apple lightning cable, February 12, 2014

   By 

   Star BeGlitched –

   I usually buy Monoprice cables because of their lifetime guarantee but since I love Anker, I decided to check this cable out to compare it with the Monoprice and the standard Apple cable.

   This review is for the 36″ Usb/Lightning cable. As always, this Anker product comes packaged nicely in a brown box with a nice white label.

   The USB end and the lightning connector end is much thicker than the other cable ends. It seems more durable. Time will tell. This cable does what it says it will do- it connects without giving you the error message that “This accessory is not designed for this device”. No problems getting power immediately.

   Apple’s lightning cable costs $17.49 while the Monoprice cable is $12.09 before shipping. This Anker cable is $15.99 on Amazon so it is about the same cost as the Monoprice cable, but without the lifetime guarantee. Anker has great customer service and I would be willing to bet that even though the cable doesn’t have a lifetime guarantee, they would probably be willing to work something out if the cable fails in a reasonable amount of time. It would be nice if Anker could provide the same guarantee that Monoprice does. That being said, this cable does look durable enough that there shouldn’t be any problems with it.

   I did a short test of all three cables to see if any of them charged significantly faster or slower. I plugged in each cable to the same USB charger and timed how long it took to get to 7% charge increase. I did the test when my phone was streaming music at a 50% charge. If you do the test, just make sure that you keep all of the conditions the same and that you collect the data in the middle area of the battery life because as it gets more empty or full, the battery percentage meter is slightly less accurate. All three cables charged at a rate of 3% in about 3+ minutes with the Anker cable being slightly faster. It took the Anker cable 7 minutes and 10 seconds to charge 7% while it took the Monoprice cable 7 minutes and 30 seconds. The Apple cable took 7 minutes and 26 seconds to charge the battery 7%. If you calculate the 15 seconds difference, it amounts to 3 and a half minutes faster for a 100% charge. I don’t really see that as a selling point, but the Anker cable did charge slightly faster than the others.

   I am including a picture of the Apple end, Monoprice and Anker end for comparison.

   The price is right for this cable. Why are you thinking so much- it’s just a cable. Buy it and forget about it.

   I received this item for review and promise that my review is accurate and honest.

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