Total lack of imagination here. 'It's a fraction of the size, therefore it should be a fraction of the price'? Apple bundles lightning cables with every iPhone 5, iPad mini/4 and a few of the iPods, on top of selling however many extras. They're buying the components in the tens of millions. I know most of you seem to think that getting a product mass produced entails emailing a random Chinese factory, saying 'can I has 300,000 of these pls kthxbai' and throwing a keycap on the end of it, but when you actually have to package and ship these things it gets a little more complicated.
This one is (presumably) well-made and is Apple certified. Those of you saying you brought a cable for $2 off eBay — have you actually used them for longer than a few months? I've tried a few and they're as poorly made as anything else that costs that much. The plastic surround for the lightning end invariably isn't secured to the rest of the housing properly and separates if you don't unplug it super carefully, the ends fray, etc. My original Apple cables are all bulletproof, at least so far. I'm not saying you couldn't make one just as good for more like $5-$10, but given that the AmazonBasics cable costs not far off what an official one does and they're presumably selling a lot more than this will, any complaints should probably be directed at Apple.
Naturally, plenty of people here carry laptop bags most of the time and can always have a cable handy. I don't, but I always have my keys, so this product makes perfect sense. $25 is hardly breaking the bank, and when you factor in that you really only need one and that lightning as a standard is presumably going to last for ten years or so (just as the 30-pin connector did), then it's hardly a rip-off.
