The best USB-C cables for the iPhone 15 in 2025: Expert tested

With this shift to the USB-C connector on the iPhone 15, there will be confusion about which USB-C cable to buy because not all are created equal. Some support higher wattage levels to charge laptops and other higher-capacity consumer electronics such as power stations and portable batteries. Some even possess USB-IF or Thunderbolt certifications, meaning they have been tested to more rigorous performance, safety, and build quality standards. 

Most USB-C cables sold support USB 2.0 data rates (480mbps), whereas others support higher data rates supported by the iPhone 15 Pro. 

Many cables on the market, such as Apple’s OEM USB-C charge cable, also only have 1-year warranties, effectively making them throwaway products, whereas others have 18-month,  2-year, 5-year, or even lifetime warranties. For this list, we’ve chosen a variety of well-known vendors with reputable support policies.

• If you have the iPhone 15 or iPhone 15 Plus or only need a charging cable with your iPhone 15 Pro, any Charging/USB 2.0 cables on this list are fine. 

• If you plan to charge the iPhone, iPad Pro, and laptop, you’ll want cables with a 100W charge capacity or higher.

• If you have an iPhone 15 Pro or an iPhone 15 Pro Max and want to transfer data at high speed (10Gbps), you will want a Thunderbolt/USB 4 cable or USB 3.1 Gen 2/USB 3.2 Gen 2 cable.

The USB 2.0 data connectivity standard was introduced in April of 2000, with a data transfer rate of 480Mbps. Lightning, the connector standard used from the iPhone 5 to the iPhone 14, and the USB-C connector on the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus, use USB 2.0 signaling protocols and data transfer rates.

The USB 3.1 data connectivity standard was introduced in July 2013, and the USB Type-C connector was finalized by the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) in August 2014. USB 3.2 was introduced in September 2017, replacing, absorbing, and renaming the USB 3.1 specification.

However, USB 3.1 Gen 2 and USB 3.2 Gen 2 data connectivity standards are the same, also known as SuperSpeed+, delivering 10 Gbps. Products labeled under either specification should work on the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone Pro Max at native speeds, especially if they are USB-IF certified.

Thunderbolt is a proprietary technology owned by Intel and co-developed with Apple. It is a hardware interface for connecting external peripherals to a computer (a PC or a Mac). Thunderbolt version 3 is the basis for the USB4 specification, supports up to 40Gbps throughput, and is backward compatible with USB 3.2 Gen 2, which the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max are compatible with. 

USB Power Delivery (USB PD) is a fast charging standard delivered over USB-C cables, supporting up to 100W with Standard Power (SPR) and up to 240W with Extended Power (EPR) provided the cable and device support it. With USB PD, The cable “listens” to the device’s wattage needs and adjusts its energy flow accordingly. So, if you connect an 18W iPhone 15 to a cable that can support up to 240W, the charger brick and cable with USB PD support will throttle down to 18W maximum charge rate.

In our discussions with Bernie Thompson, the founder of Plugable, which sells USB-IF-certified and Thunderbolt cables, he recommended that you should buy a Thunderbolt-certified cable if you are using it for fast data transfer on an iPhone 15 Pro, as that is the industry standard Apple has aligned itself with (and is a founding member along with Intel) for its products. It is overkill, but it is guaranteed to work.

However, a less expensive USB 3.1 Gen 2/USB 3.2 Gen 2 cable should also work – but we haven’t had the chance to test one on an iPhone 15 Pro yet. Per Apple’s support page: “iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max support fast USB 3.2 Gen 2 speeds up to 10Gbit per second when using an optional USB 3 cable.”