If you’re looking for high-performance in all things and don’t mind the length, the Cable Matters USB4 cable is our pick. That also translated into excellent USB 3.1 data transfer rates, monitor support and the only cable here capable of driving our Thunderbolt 3 SSD at a full 40Gbps data rates. What appealed to us enough to buy the cable is its USB4 rating which promises high-performance.Īnd no surprise, the cable was able to charge our laptop at 100 watts, and offered the best voltage and lowest resistance thanks to the wires Cable Matters uses and its 2.6-foot length. But if performance and quality is your jam, the Cable Matters 6-foot USB-C cable will have you humming.Ĭable Matters USB3 Cable is but 2.6-foot so it lacks the appeal of long cables. At $18, it’s among the more expensive cables here. Those thicker gauge wires also mean you can’t roll up as easily or compactly as other cables, too.Īnd no surprise, high performance and high quality mean it’s not cheap. The cable weighs almost 3.5 ounces, making it the the heaviest cable we tested outside of the 4-meter (13-foot) cable we looked at above. The other cost of this quality is weight and pliability. To hit 40Gbps, you’d have to step down to a shorter cable. That’s not a ding in our book because that’s the tradeoff of a 6-foot cable. The only area where it doesn’t excel is in Thunderbolt performance, which is limited to 20Gbps. The cable can do it all and do it all well (well, almost) from charging at up to 100 watts, transferring data from your USB 3.1 SSD, or running a monitor. If you’re looking for a high-quality USB-C cable that will give you excellent performance, it’s hard to beat Cable Matters 6-foot USB-C cable. Plus you can buy it from an Apple store or retailer so you know you’re actually getting what you paid for and not some counterfeit. Obviously, as a charge cable it’s terrible for data transfer and can’t drive Thunderbolt devices nor your monitor, but as a charging cable it’s excellent.Īnother ding is its price of $19, but if you want a name-brand cable, it’s hard to beat this. Want to charge your laptop at 100 watts all day? That shouldn’t be a problem for the Apple USB-C Charge Cable. In the end though, it’s what’s inside a cable that matters the most and the Apple USB-C cable has top-notch wiring materials that can deliver the most power to your laptop, phone, or tablet. When we say the box, we mean it, because Apple oddly doesn’t include any branding on the cable itself, which is a mistake because you just might mix it up with a lousy cable. In the end, Apple’s USB-C Charge Cable won us over and is actually our recommended cable for those who want a big name on the box and intend to use it for mostly charging. Yes, we’ve heard the stories and seen the pictures of the sleeving on many Apple cables that fall off if you look at them too hard. We’ll be honest, we didn’t know what to expect of the stock 6.6-foot Apple USB-C Charge Cable Apple includes with its MacBook laptops and sells as a replacement item. Sure, it’s not quite as pliable as the even more basic Amazon Basics cable USB 3 to USB-C below, this one is currently cheaper, isn’t limited to 60 watts, and doesn’t feel like it will fall apart. Even better, it’s less than half the cost of the Javex charging cable we previously recommended for those on a budget. During testing, we also subjected the Amazon Basics Aluminum Braided cable to a continuous 100-watt load for more than 30 minutes without issue so charging won’t be a problem. Although our testing didn’t find it to be quite as good as the Javex cable we’re bumping from our top perch-it’s close enough it doesn’t matter. The good news is that as a charging cable, you’ll be able to charge up to 100 watts-enough power for a Dell XPS 15 or MacBook Pro 16-class laptop. That means you should expect no more than 480Mbps versus the much faster 5Gbps to 40Gbps of cables wired for higher speeds. The cable features a stiff plastic overmold for strain relief and is wired strictly for USB 2.0 data transfer speeds. This is a pleasant, shiny cloth-like braid. Before you get too excited, the “aluminum” in its name probably should be “aluminum-colored”-if you wanted an actual aluminum exterior, you won’t get it. Let’s be honest, most people don’t need a USB-C to USB-C cable for much more than charging devices-so why the premium for all that high-speed data-transfer, Thunderbolt stuff? Look no further than the Amazon Basics “Aluminum Braided” 100W USB-C to USB-C 2.0 cable then.
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