Charge your iPhone faster by pairing these USB Type-C to Lightning cables with a USB-PD charger.
USB C to Lightning cables by Apple, Belkin, Stuffcool, and Xcentz feature in this list
After years of stubbornly shipping 5W chargers with all iPhone models — something we've consistently criticised in our reviews — Apple finally decided to ship a faster charger with this year's iPhone models. Well, at least a couple of them. While the iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max now each ship with an 18W charger, the iPhone 11, though it supports faster charging speeds, still ships with the cruddy 5W charger.
The 18W charger that ships with the iPhone 11 Pro models is a Type-C charger, another first for the iPhone. This means these new iPhones ship with a Type-C to Lightning cable in the box. If you lose the cable, or would like to have a spare one for your backpack or office, finding one can be a challenge, since they aren't quite as ubiquitous as the good old USB-A to Lightning cable. So we decided to compile a list of options for you to choose from.
As always, we've restricted ourselves to products we've tested ourselves. Also, note that though Apple ships a fast charger and a Type-C to Lightning cable only with the iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max, you can pair these cables with any standard Type-C charger that supports USB Power Delivery (USB-PD) to fast charge any recent iPhone model.
Our first pick is Apple's own USB Type-C to Lightning cable, which is available for purchase separately. Available in two lengths, Apple's cable supports fast charging speeds, letting you top up the iPhone 11 Pro Max from empty to 46 percent in just 30 minutes, using the charger that came bundled with the iPhone.
The only problem is that you might have a problem buying Apple's USB-C to Lightning cable online, since it was listed as “out of stock” at both Amazon India and Flipkart at the time of publishing this story.
Price: Rs. 1,700 (1m), Rs. 2,900 (2m)
Warranty: 1 year
Colour(s): White
If you're looking for an alternative to Apple's official USB-C to Lightning cable, the 1.2m Belkin Boost Charge USB-C Cable is worth considering. You pay a premium compared to Apple's offerings, but you get a cable that looks extremely stylish, and, more importantly, feels pretty solid.
In our test, the Belkin Boost Charge USB-C Cable enabled charging speeds that were identical to Apple's official cable, which is about as good as it gets. As a nice bonus, Belkin provides a two-year warranty on its cable.
Price: Rs. 2,499
Warranty: 2 years
Colour(s): Black, White
If you are on a tighter budget, the Stuffcool USB Type-C to Lightning cable is definitely worth considering. Available in just one colour, this 1.5m braided cable is MFi certified, which means it's guaranteed to work with your Apple devices.
In our tests, the Stuffcool cable enabled the fastest charging in 30 minutes, albeit by the smallest of margins (up to 47 percent, compared to 46 percent for the Apple and Belkin cables). At Rs. 1,699, it's practically the same price as Apple's charging cable, but the company offers just six months' warranty. Regardless, it's still worth picking up especially if Apple's Ligtning cable is facing supply constraints, as often seems to be the case.
Price: Rs. 1,699
Warranty: 6 months
Colour(s): Black
Stuffcool also sells a bundle of a 18W Power Delivery (PD) charger and a Type-C to Lightning cable for Rs. 2,899, which seems better value for money. Stuffcool's charger offers slightly faster charging speeds than Apple's 18W charger, with the combination of Stuffcool charger and cable topping up our iPhone 11 Pro Max to 54 percent in 30 minutes. It's worth pointing out that the charger does get a bit warm when being used, and doesn't work with Apple's Type-C cables, as we've noted elsewhere, so it's by no means a no brainer purchase.
Though not officially available in India, the Xcentz USB C to Lightning Cable is the most affordable option on our list, and will appeal to our international readers. Available via Amazon.com in two length and four colour options, this is a nylon braided cable that claims to be capable of withstanding over 30,000 bending movements and is said to be capable of holding up to 175lbs (roughly 80kg), though we are not sure why or when that would matter.
What does matter is the fact that Xcentz is backing its claims with a lifetime warranty — that's right, a lifetime warranty. In our charging tests, the cable delivered only marginally slower charging speeds than the cables by Apple and Belkin, enabling the iPhone 11 Pro Max to go from empty to 44 percent in 30 minutes.
Price: 3 feet (roughly 0.9m): $16.99 (approximately Rs. 1,200), 6 feet (roughly 1.8m): $17.99 (approximately Rs. 1,275)
Warranty: Lifetime
Colours: Black, Blue, Red, Silver
There are a few other options out there, including a cable we've covered in the past. Priced at Rs. 499, the Rock Type-C to Lightning cable is pretty affordable, but you pay the price in terms of performance. Pairing this cable with the iPhone 11 Pro Max charger, we noticed that the phone only charged up to 16 percent in 30 minutes, which was pretty underwhelming. So, if you are looking for a Type-C to Lightning cable on a tight budget and don't care about charging speed, you can consider this as an option.
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