A $(removed) Lightning cable that's Apple MFi Certified

anker-cableI buy a lot of Lightning-to-USB cables because my kids lose theirs and then steal mine. At first, I bought the cheapest replacement cables I could find (Amazon sells them for as little as $(removed) each, with free shipping), but I've learned that this is a bad tactic. Sometimes the cables don't work, and the ones that do work eventually fail. It's almost as if there is a self-destruct switch with a timer in these cheap cables. I've stopped buying them.

Apple's own Lightning cables are much more expensive. A 3-foot Lightning-to-USB costs $(removed) I can't afford them, not at the rate my kids lose or destroy theirs. The alternative is to buy a cable that has been certified through Apple's MFi licensing program. (Reportedly, Apple charges equipment manufacturers a $(removed) licensing fee per cable, which is actually less than it used to charge.)

Anker sells a MFi Certified 3-foot Lightning-to-USB cable for $(removed). I've bought a bunch over the months and not one has failed yet. Until Apple does another because-fuck-you-that's-why connector change on its iPhone, I will buy only Anker Lightning-to-USB cables.