Why do the prices of small data cables vary by hundreds of times? Experts say it is because of differences in materials and craftsmanship. It is safer to choose branded products.

Charging a smartphone requires a data cable. The small data cables all look similar, but the quality and price vary greatly. Recently, Jimu News reporters visited and found that the price of data cables can vary by hundreds of times due to different brands and quality. So, which data cable is more durable? How should consumers choose a data cable?
A vendor was selling data cables. The cheapest one was 5 yuan and about 1 meter long. The most expensive one was 25 yuan. The owner said it supported functions such as fast charging and data transmission. In a nearby electronic product brand experience store, the reporter saw that the price of data cables ranged from 14.9 yuan, 27 yuan, to 35 yuan.
On e-commerce platforms, there are a wide variety of data cables, with prices ranging from a few yuan to tens of yuan or even hundreds of yuan. For example, an Apple fast-charging data cable that claims to be "official and genuine" and is about 1.5 meters long costs as much as 999 yuan. The product details page shows that it is compatible with fast charging of iPhone, iPad and other series of products, and can also meet the needs of fast data transmission. It also comes with certificates such as the "China National Compulsory Product Certification Certificate". In another store, an Apple data cable that also claims to have fast charging and data transmission functions has a minimum price of only 1 yuan.
The reporter noticed that for data cables of the same brand with the same material and function, the shorter the length, the cheaper the price. In addition to single-interface data cables, many businesses have also launched three-in-one charging data cables, which can "use one cable to handle all devices" and are very popular among consumers. For example, a three-in-one data cable priced from 6.9 yuan has sold more than 300,000 units.
In addition to different interfaces, some manufacturers also work hard on the appearance of data cables. For example, they launch nylon braided cables in various colors to increase aesthetics; some claim to use liquid soft glue material, which is not only durable but also smooth; some come with cool charging indicator lights, making it easy to find the phone when charging at night; and there is also a "third-generation" data cable that claims to use Xiaobing line, which claims to be able to be fully charged in 1 hour, will not damage the phone at low temperatures, and will not pop up windows.
 

Poor quality products pose safety risks

"The reason why data cables have obvious price differences is that the quality of the materials used and the production processes are different." An inspector from the Wire and Cable Testing Center of Wuhan Product Quality Supervision and Inspection Institute said that good quality data cables will use tinned copper, silver-plated copper and pure copper conductors, and the conductor cross-sectional area is larger to increase the current transmission speed and shorten the charging time; while poor quality data cables may use copper conductors, aluminum conductors or copper-clad aluminum conductors with smaller conductor cross-sectional areas, which are of poor quality and are prone to fire, posing safety risks.
In addition, some data cables use inferior materials or recycled waste to produce the insulation and sheath layers, which have low production costs and short service life. In comparison, good quality data cables have metal braided meshes that can shield magnetic field interference, ensure anti-interference during data transmission, and enhance the data cable's pull-out resistance. At the same time, differences in data cable control chips will also affect the stability of current during charging or data transmission.
Engineers from the Electronic Information Product Quality Supervision and Inspection Institute said that inferior data cables are prone to short circuits due to overload and have poor flame retardancy. Once an overload occurs during use, it is easy to cause the temperature to rise rapidly, the insulation layer will enter a molten state, and then cause a fire. Inferior charging data cables also have the problem of poor durability. It is likely that there will be poor contact between the contact points, causing short circuits, charging overloads and other problems, causing the phone to fail to function normally, and in serious cases, damaging the internal structure of the phone.
 

Experts warn not to buy three-no products

Recently, the Consumer Association commissioned relevant institutions to conduct comparative tests on some brands of charging data cables sold on the market. The test results show that the 46 data cables tested met the requirements of withstand voltage and insulation resistance before the test. Nearly half of the samples had poor flame retardancy, especially the outer sheath of the braided cable, which was more likely to reduce flame retardancy and even promote combustion. In addition, some samples also had problems such as poor interface plug-in performance, weak corrosion resistance, and poor bending resistance.
There are many types of data cables. How should consumers choose?
When buying a data cable, check the outer packaging first. Do not buy products without any certification. It is best to choose a data cable from a well-known brand with an MFi certified chip. Secondly, check the data cable manual. Pure copper conductors or products that include aluminum foil shielding and metal braided mesh shielding in the production process are preferred. The longer the charging data cable is, the greater the line loss and the greater the current loss. Therefore, the shorter the charging data cable is, the faster the charging speed will be. If the charging cable is too long, line noise will cause bit errors, thereby affecting the data transmission rate. Generally speaking, it is recommended to choose a data cable of about 1 meter to 1.5 meters.