Heavy-Duty Companion - Anker Powerline+ II
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Smartphones are handy devices in a sense that they handle numerous functions which only a few years ago would have required dedicated apparatuses. However great the digital swiss knives are, electricity is still needed to juice them.
Thus, having a charging cable is still a necessity (or a charging dock but let’s leave that for other time). Unfortunately, often the cables that come with phones are rather flimsy. Apple´s Lightning cable is a good example of such, especially considering the section where the cord merges to the connector.
Anker to the Rescue
Fortunately, many third-party manufacturers have come to the rescue. One of the most reputable is Anker. Their most rugged line of Lightning cables is Powerline+ II. The quality of these cables is easy to see and feel. The outermost layer of the cable consists of durable two-braided premium nylon, and inner parts are nothing to be ashamed of, either. According to Anker, the cable should withstand up to 175 lb (or around 79 kg) of force. It should also be able to cope being bent over 12 000 times.
The manufacturer is clearly confident of the craftmanship by providing a lifetime warranty covering the product from manufacturing defects. When it comes to Apple ecosystem, many users have faced incompatibility issues with their third-party cables. However, the compatibility of Powerline +II is ensured as it has been given MFi (Made For iPhone) certificate by Apple, which also means it is made to meet Apple´s high performance standards.
No Pluses Without Minuses
Despite all this fancy stuff, the cord is not perfect. First of all, it is l more stiff and heavier, and takes more space from your bag than the original cable by Apple. The extra weight of the Anker cable can drag the device it has been connected to, and with bad luck, break it by dropping it on the floor. Lastly, the housings of the connectors are higher and wider, which may cause problems when using cases that have limited space around the Lightning port.
The cable comes in three lengths (3, 6 and 10 ft) and four colors (red, black, silver and golden). Minimalist Products recommend choosing the longest option as it does not take significantly more space but provides enough reach for most of the day-to-day situations you could think of.
To sum things up, Anker´s Powerline+ II is just a cable. But it does its job very well.
