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SPNarwhal

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Apr 22, 2009
1,260
156
illinois
Anyone have any experience with any specific third party USB C Lightning Cables? I'm looking for a cable or two that support fast charging but don't want to pay a ton of money for Apple's 1st party ones.

Two concerns I have with 3rd party are

1.) Not safe.

2.) Safe, but won't actually support fast charging.

Does anyone have any recommendations?

I was looking at two brands: RAXFLY and FLOVEME

Never heard of them before, but they seem to be bigger brands than just an extreme generic cable. Just can't find much feedback on them.
 

BeatCrazy

macrumors 603
Jul 20, 2011
5,078
4,439
#2 is your biggest concern. Since no 3rd party cables support fast charging, you might as well use regular USB-A to Lighting.
 

BeatCrazy

macrumors 603
Jul 20, 2011
5,078
4,439
Why do no 3rd party cables support fast charging? How could that be?

Because Apple has custom circuitry between the Lightning connector and the USB-C connector to ensure proper charging of iOS devices. Although they've announced licensing support for these protocols next year, no currently available Lightning to USB-C cables are approved/authorized.
 

chanerz

macrumors 68000
Jul 7, 2010
1,786
1,117
Bought this at Amazon. AUKEY USB C to Lightning Cable 3ft. it supports fast charging. Works well with Anker PD charger.

 

lykbutta

macrumors regular
Oct 16, 2014
102
98
Bought this at Amazon. AUKEY USB C to Lightning Cable 3ft. it supports fast charging. Works well with Anker PD charger.

I have yet to find one cable that supports the power delivery for fast charging iPhones. I have the PD Aukey brick but have to have the Apple cable. Do you have the link to that cable
 

Deathshead

macrumors regular
Mar 9, 2009
131
95
The biggest scumbag move Apple did with the xs/xsm is not including a 30w fast charger and cable.
I picked up an iclever 30watt brick but still will have to buy the usb fast charging cable from Apple.

Scumbag Apple pricing #2.

USB-C to Lightning Cable (1 m) $19.00
USB-C to Lightning Cable (2 m) $35.00

That's $16.00 per meter of wire.

 

lykbutta

macrumors regular
Oct 16, 2014
102
98
You can use any adapter that’s 30w and is PD ready. There are Anker adapters on Amazon that are a lot less than apples. I got the Apple cable and a Anker PD block. Works wonderfully especially with my iPad Pro
 

Menel

Suspended
Aug 4, 2011
6,351
1,356
The biggest scumbag move Apple did with the xs/xsm is not including a 30w fast charger and cable.
I picked up an iclever 30watt brick but still will have to buy the usb fast charging cable from Apple.

Scumbag Apple pricing #2.

USB-C to Lightning Cable (1 m) $19.00
USB-C to Lightning Cable (2 m) $35.00

That's $16.00 per meter of wire.
I have wire in my lab that is $1,000 per meter. Amazing how cheap Apple was able to get these cables.
 
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Deathshead

macrumors regular
Mar 9, 2009
131
95
I have wire in my lab that is $1,000 per meter. Amazing how cheap Apple was able to get these cables.

Wait, are you actually defending apple charging $16 a meter for a lightning cable? lol apple probably pays 2¢ or less per ft.
 

Hazmat401

macrumors 6502
Dec 29, 2017
390
1,070
Delaware County, Pa
The biggest scumbag move Apple did with the xs/xsm is not including a 30w fast charger and cable.
I picked up an iclever 30watt brick but still will have to buy the usb fast charging cable from Apple.

Scumbag Apple pricing #2.

USB-C to Lightning Cable (1 m) $19.00
USB-C to Lightning Cable (2 m) $35.00

That's $16.00 per meter of wire.

Why would they include a 30 watt charger when they make 100s of millions off a MFI and dongols lol
 

UnifiedMelody

macrumors 6502
Nov 17, 2017
299
139
Australia
[doublepost=1538585531][/doublepost]
Why would they include a 30 watt charger when they make 100s of millions off a MFI and dongols lol

how often do people need 30W charger is the question... the tech community blew this **** up for no reason.
even for most people iPad 12W charger is more than enough [even for my iPhone XS max] in most days.
the only time i ever use that 30W charger is if i'm in a SUPER desperate situation or travelling when i need the quick charge up boost...

some are just making it a huge deal :\ not to mention fast charging heats up the phone like crazy so thats another thing to consider! heat can damage the phone a little bit which is something you do not want often too. again i use the 30w charger as a last minute option if i really urgently need that battery boost in a few minutes*

that being said in my local retail even samsung 1st party accessories are highly priced too but why no one talk about them? in fact they are almost equal pricing in comparison to apple... people just wanna bash apple because apple... but honestly they need a reality check lol. samsung is also pricing high for its own accessories
 
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NoBoMac

Moderator
Staff member
Jul 1, 2014
6,165
4,839
What about these Anker lightning cables?

Those are not for USB-C/PD charging.

That said, I have a couple of those and have been happy with them while using my Anker 24w two-port charger. Also have had good luck with the Amazon Basics cables as well.
 

BigMcGuire

Cancelled
Jan 10, 2012
9,832
14,032
[doublepost=1538585531][/doublepost]

how often do people need 30W charger is the question... the tech community blew this **** up for no reason.
even for most people iPad 12W charger is more than enough [even for my iPhone XS max] in most days.
the only time i ever use that 30W charger is if i'm in a SUPER desperate situation or travelling when i need the quick charge up boost...

some are just making it a huge deal :\ not to mention fast charging heats up the phone like crazy so thats another thing to consider! heat can damage the phone a little bit which is something you do not want often too. again i use the 30w charger as a last minute option if i really urgently need that battery boost in a few minutes*

that being said in my local retail even samsung 1st party accessories are highly priced too but why no one talk about them? in fact they are almost equal pricing in comparison to apple... people just wanna bash apple because apple... but honestly they need a reality check lol. samsung is also pricing high for its own accessories

How horrible of you to have a valid point. We only bash apple here... didn't you know? (/sarcasm) :)

Agreed. Our iPad 12w chargers or even 2.4amp Anker chargers do just fine. Anker's cables are really nice (especially the red braided 6ft ones). We use them all the time. Not a lot of difference between that and our Macbook 65w charger and Apple's USB C to lightning cable speed.

That and... my phone sits on a wireless charger at work and home most of the day so I rarely if ever need to rapid charge. My wife uses our apple USB C to lightning cable with our macbook chargers cuz she's always low on battery. Works really well.
 

JTravers

macrumors 6502a
Jun 28, 2010
733
228
So, Which Apple adapter do I need for fast charging? I think I'm going to just pay whatever and not worry about it.

Best source I've found for authentic Apple 1m USB-C to Lightning cables is a seller on eBay named Goldstar_Tech. He sells Used/Very Good condition cables for under $10. He also sells them in New/Like New condition for under $12.
 

EX1127

macrumors 6502
May 26, 2009
300
120
Louisiana
USB-C to Lightning Cable (2 m) $35.00

That's $16.00 per meter of wire.
:confused: $17.50*

How horrible of you to have a valid point. We only bash apple here... didn't you know? (/sarcasm) :)

Agreed. Our iPad 12w chargers or even 2.4amp Anker chargers do just fine. Anker's cables are really nice (especially the red braided 6ft ones). We use them all the time. Not a lot of difference between that and our Macbook 65w charger and Apple's USB C to lightning cable speed.

That and... my phone sits on a wireless charger at work and home most of the day so I rarely if ever need to rapid charge. My wife uses our apple USB C to lightning cable with our macbook chargers cuz she's always low on battery. Works really well.
Anker makes some of the best wires. We use to buy some cheaper ones that eventually broke ~month or literally out of the box on amazon. Bought some Anker before a trip overseas and since then we got another 5. Their better quality and IMHO seem to charge faster than normal run of the mill cables
 
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