Your iPhone Wants These 11 Essential Accessories in the New Year

The USB-C cable coiled up in the box behind the iPhone 15 and subsequent mounts is… slow. Although USB-C as a connection form is close to Universal, not all cables can transfer data as fast as others. And this one is really good for charging, because it passes data at USB 2.0 rates only (480 Mbps, or megabytes per second).

That was amazing speed – almost A quarter century ago When it was introduced. But if you want to back up your iPhone to a computer or record video to an external drive, you need a cable that can handle USB 3 speeds of at least 5 Gbps (Gigabits per second).

So, pick up this 1-meter USB-C cable from Cable Matters, for just $13. It transfers data at up to 10 Gbps, and will also pass through 100 watts of power for charging and powering external devices.

But there’s a catch: The faster speeds are only available on the Pro models — the iPhone 16 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max. iPhone 16 and iPhone 15 continue to support USB 2 speeds only.