Monoprice - MFI certified Lightning cables for iDevices

[akugami]

http://www.monoprice.com/products/search.asp?keyword=lightning

Monoprice now carries MFI certified Lightning cables for iDevices. Reasonably priced. Certainly much more palatable than the $20 cables that Apple sells. Most of them are out of stock at the moment. Probably because people are snatching them up like hotcakes due to the reasonable price. I ordered two of the 10ft Lightning cables while they were in stock.

Cable body - The cable itself is thicker and doesn't have that soft plastic feel of the official Apple ones. Feels sturdy and similar to the USB cables you normally get from Monoprice.

Lightning connector - I've plugged them into my iPhone 5 and the feel of the connector itself is definitely the same as the official Apple cable. Being a licensed product, it's reversible. Data syncs up correctly regardless of orientation.

I know there are many reports of the knockoff Lightning cables that won't charge, won't sync, or are not reversible. Not to mention some said that the feel of the connector being plugged in wasn't quite the same and that they were concerned the knockoffs are slightly larger and would actually enlarge the port enough that official connectors no longer fit correctly.

The plastic part you hold on the Lightning end of the cable is also much larger. This may be a cause for concern depending on the type of case you use. I know this was an issue with the older 30pin iPod/iPhone cable with some cases. Just something to note.

 

[Sheninat0r]

They may be cheaper than first-party, but $12 for a 3ft USB cable is still kind of ridiculous, especially when an equivalent MicroUSB cable can be had for $0.99. Dat Apple tax.

 

[ponyo]

Amazon sells their AmazonBasics cable for $13.99 with Prime shipping. http://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-Lightning-Compatible-Cable-Meter/dp/B009SYZ8OC/ref=pd_pgd_B0097BEFYA_B009SYZ8OC?pf_rd_p=1534240202&pf_rd_s=cp-merchandising-top&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B0097BEFYA&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=13YDY3MW81RG3XED23V1

And if you want the official Apple lightning cables, Amazon sells Apple ones for $16.99 with Prime shipping. http://www.amazon.com/Apple-Lightning-to-USB-Cable/dp/B0097BEFYA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1367169560&sr=8-2&keywords=lightning+cable
After including shipping charges, Monoprice is not really cheaper than Amazon. I agree with the other poster. $12-15 for 3ft cable is still ridiculous.

 

[akugami]

There's usually a 10% off Monoprice coupon code floating around so I paid about $13'ish after shipping for a 10ft cable. I did have to buy other items from Monoprice.

Just thought people would be interested in how these Monoprice ones stack up. So aside from the thicker body surrounding the Lightning plug, it's about the same as the Apple ones.

As far as price, I agree the price is not exactly cheap. That's why in my first post, I said it's more palatable, not that it's cheap. Considering the price of most other Lightning cables, it's much more reasonably priced.

I have no problem going with a knockoff Lightning cable. I've bought more than a few Apple 30pin iPod/iPhone cables for about $3'ish with decent results. The problem is it seems the quality of the knockoff Lightning cables are mostly miss rather than hit at this point.

 

[SAWYER]

I sell third party lightning cables for 6 bucks