There’s nothing better than switching on your new iPhone for the first time, safe in the knowledge that you have a brand-new charging cable ready and waiting to provide that essential shot of juice when the battery first begins to run low. On the flip side, no feeling is as crushing as plugging in that same iPhone a few months down the line to a well-worn and splitting cable that chooses that moment to breathe its last. Don’t just look at the price. Look at what you want to do now, and what you might want to do next year. For example, an 18W charger will fast charge your iPhone, but it’s not powerful enough to run a MacBook Pro. A more powerful one may be a better option for your future tech arsenal.

It's expensive for what it is but as is always the way with Apple products, you'll grudgingly realize why. Just don't count on it coming with a power adapter or cable because, of course, it doesn't, so that’s potentially yet another expense you’ll have to factor in if you somehow don’t already have one. Still, cost aside this is one of the best iPhone chargers. What type of iPhone charger is for you? How to choose the best iPhone charger for you Wireless isn’t always as fast, but it’s more convenient. Most wireless iPhone chargers deliver 5W or 7.5W and work through most iPhone cases. Put simply, MFI Certification (Made for iPhone) is a standardised testing process that many third-party or officially licensed iPhone charging cables must go through before hitting the market, ensuring that they are safe for use. Basically, if you see this symbol on a product, you know that it has been rigorously tested ready to be plugged in for years to come. How can I spot a fake cable? Apple first introduced fast charging in 2017 with the iPhone 8 (although what we call fast speeds on iPhones would be considered slow compared to some Android models). The fastest chargers for iPhones use USB-C connectors, as we'll explain below, and the key thing you want to look for is "PD" (which stands for Power Delivery). It's a high power specification that makes charging faster when using a USB-C cable. No one wants to plug a dodgy cable into their brand new iPhone only to cause the device serious internal or physical damage, or even worse, lose their files. It could even be a fire hazard, and no amount of money-saving is worth torching your home.We know that the world of charging is a bit of a minefield and it can feel like there are loads of specs to sift through. So, we've done the hard work for you and collected the best iPhone chargers below. For as much as we enjoy the iPhone line of smartphones, we can’t in good conscience say that the official charging cables provided are always guaranteed to last the life cycle of the device itself. Fortunately, there are many companies that make exceptional, and in many cases affordable, replacements to the standard-issue charging cable, with some even being wireless. File transfer speeds, however, don’t follow this rule. The Lightning-to-USB cable from Apple moves data at 480Mbits/sec. This figure applies to any cable with a Lightning connector, regardless of what connector sits at the other end – even Lightning-to-USB-C cables are limited by the Lightning connector itself.

Meanwhile, when choosing a charging cable, durability is key. Nylon braiding reduces tangling; look for reinforcements where the cable meets the connector, as that’s where cables tend to fray.