Don’t Buy Apple Accessories
I am an Apple fan. I am almost completely involved in the ecosystem, working between my iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch throughout the day (sadly, no iPod). However, there is one aspect of the Apple universe that I do not share and, in fact, try to avoid: accessory loyalty.
Apple makes a lot of accessories: cases, keyboards, headphones, and so on. I really like the Magic Keyboard and use my AirPods every day; these are not the accessories I’m talking about. For the purposes of this article, I’m referring to Apple’s favorite submarket for cables, chargers, and adapters.
You don’t need to buy Apple accessories for Apple products
The truth is that Apple’s cables and chargers are nothing special compared to the competition. You can argue all day about the merits of Apple devices , but when it comes to things like forks, you just don’t have to pay Apple tax if you don’t have to.
Functionally, most of these accessories are the same as most third-party options, but at an increased cost. Apple knows that customers who add expensive new appliances to their shopping cart will want to make sure they have all the add-ons they might need when using their new device. So, they take Apple’s new Lightning cable and adapter to connect their old devices to the new one. Maybe they’ll even buy an Apple-branded microfiber cloth for $19 (no, it actually exists ).
However, often these cables, chargers, adapters and more can be found cheaper from third parties. Sometimes a company will offer a product for a similar price but include additional features, such as an extra port or two on a wall charger. Sometimes the product itself is simply better made – the standard Apple Lightning to USB cable is notorious for breaking, while stronger nylon-threaded options have been available from other companies for years.
Beware of all companies that try to sell you Apple accessories.
However, not only Apple is trying to convince you to buy their products – hardware stores will also try to influence your opinion. For example, I was traveling this summer and realized I forgot my USB-C to USB-A cable. I went to an already overpriced hardware store at the airport to buy a universal cable to get the job done. While I was calling, the salesperson asked what type of computer I was buying this cable for.
“Mack,” I said. “Oh,” they replied. “In that case, you really should buy an Apple cable. It’s more compatible.”
Compatible? It’s… a cable. USB-C on one end, USB-A on the other. It’s not about Windows; it doesn’t care if it’s connected to a Mac, PC, PlayStation or my ten year old Toyota – it’s a cable . If compatibility was such a big deal, you’d have to specify a PC-compatible Lightning cable when buying a new iPhone. It’s not a thing.
But how many people bought an Apple cable because someone told them something like that? Keep in mind that Apple’s “compatible” cable costs almost twice as much as a regular cable, so I guess the company has made quite a profit from people in the same situation.
When you want to buy an accessory, you just need to make sure that it matches the specifications of the device in question. If you’re buying a charger, make sure it’s powerful enough to charge your device’s battery. If you buy a cable, make sure it has the correct port for your device. As long as a company doesn’t produce junk (and often reviewers will be happy to let you know), it should perform just as well as Apple.