Anker A8123 PowerLine+ 10ft MFI Lightning Connector Cable - Gray (3M)

The Anker PowerLine+ is basically everything you want in a Lightning cable. This premium, nylon-wrapped cable is super durable, comes in a variety of colors and lengths, and it won’t leave you broke. It’s not dirt cheap but even the longest version is a couple of dollars cheaper than Apple’s Lightning cable. It’s not necessarily the cable to get if you’re on a rice-and-beans budget, but you’ll save over Apple’s cable and also get a better-looking and better-performing cable.

The PowerLine+ comes in four colors (gold, gray, red, and white) and four sizes (1 foot, 3 feet, 6 feet, and 10 feet). The slim, round cable is made with ultra-strong aramid fiber and is wrapped in a double-braided nylon sheath. The Lightning connector and the USB plug are housed in tough plastic, which is laser-welded to a more flexible rubbery material at the cable's stress point. 

One of the only caveats here is the Lightning connector’s housing—it’s at least a full millimeter larger than the housing around the Lightning connector in the Apple cable, and this could be an issue if you have a snug, waterproof case on your phone. I didn’t have any problems with my waterproof Catalyst case, but there are a handful of other waterproof cases—such as LifeProof’s cases—with smaller port openings that this cable probably wouldn’t fit into.