We purchased the AmazonBasics Lightning Cable so that our expert reviewer could thoroughly test and review it. Read on for our full product review.

AmazonBasics’ Apple-Certified Lightning Cable is about as basic as third-party Lightning cables get. We tested a white cable in our everyday life and found it to be nearly identical to Apple’s official cable. There were a few minor differences, both cosmetic and physical, but we’ll get into those in the appropriate sections. Ultimately, if you’re looking to save a few bucks over the proprietary options without sacrificing performance, you’ll want to go with the AmazonBasics cable.

The design of the AmazonBasics cables varies depending on which option you choose. They actually have many different versions, including braided cables, the standard thick rubber unit we tested, and even some with a few visual extras.

This version is about the most basic you can get, with a smooth rubber covering most of its length, with a hard, rounded plastic leading up to each connector. It’s actually not all that different from the official Apple cable in most of its design touches, with the USB logo on the USB-A end just being a bit larger and more noticeable. You can buy this particular Lightning cable in the white we tested (it’s a bit less pristine than the official Apple white), black, royal blue, red, and a nice medium gray. This variety in color gives you a nice way to customize your cable to your style, something you normally can’t do with Lightning cables.