First, credit where credit is due: Electrically, Apple's chargers are of very high quality. They are efficient, electrically quiet and very safe. By comparison, cheap knock-off chargers can be very hazardous, and in fact people have been killed by them. So Apple deserves some credit for their electrical design and componentry.
Their cables... not so much. Apple's inattention to strain relief is distressing. The cables WILL break where the soft cable enters the more-or-less rigid strain relief. It's a question of when, not if. I've never seen a different failure of an Apple charger. And having the cables on their Macbook Air and Pro power supplies be non-replaceable is just indefensible and about as un-green as it gets.
And it's not just Apple. The Lightning cables I just purchased from Monoprice have even worse strain-relief design flaws, exacerbated by very inflexible wires that twist and kink internally-- a surprising disappointment from what is ordinarily a very good alternate source for such things. And my old Lenovo laptop chargers, with their much more elaborate strain reliefs, also had their cables break over time despite my careful handling, and they were also non-replaceable.
Time for Apple to apply some leadership, IMHO, and innovate in the area of cable strain relief and replaceability. The MagSafe adaptors were a brilliant innovation that has saved the lives of countless Macbook Pros... more, please.
Having said all that, there are things you can do to extend the life of the cable of your charger/cable, whether it's for a Mac or for an iOS device or for some other brand.
o Never tug on a wire. Grip the connector. This goes for the mains cable too.
o Be careful how you wrap the cables when tucking the charger into your briefcase. Loop the cable generously so there are no side forces on the cable as it enters the strain relief.
o Stow the charger in a different compartment from the one you slide your laptop or iPad into!
o Give the cables a good look every once in a while. If any cable starts to show signs of fraying, replace it straightaway. Fraying is a fire hazard. Voice of experience here: one my laptop charger cables spat sparks after fraying-- had it been lying on a carpet, a fire would have resulted.
o IIRC, the charger is covered under AppleCare. Another good reason to spring for that option, then. Because despite all precautions it will be a matter of when, not if, the cable breaks.
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Apple chargers are shocking. I can't see many companies getting away with charging such high prices for a charger cable, but there's little option.
Actually their chargers cost about what other first-party manufacturers charge, maybe even less. Samsung's cube-shaped phone chargers on their website are actually priced higher than the equivalent iPhone charger that they strongly resemble (big surprise there, eh?
). Replacement Lenovo chargers for my old Lenovo laptops actually cost about 40% more than the chargers for my Macbook Pros.
And there are options. I just purchased a bunch of Lightning cables from Monoprice. Apple-certified, in fact. I'm not terribly satisfied with the quality, though (see my immediately preceding post on this thread). Amazon is another high-rated alternative to the Apple-branded iOS cables. I'm not aware of a third-party MagSafe-equipped charger I could recommend, though.
Just, avoid the no-name bargain-bin cables and chargers. Those can be very, very hazardous due to poor design and construction. AC mains power is not to be trifled with, and safety provisions are not the place to cut corners.
