1 day Ago
Earlier this week, Beats announced that it would begin selling colored USB cables to match your Beats devices, be that a Beats Pill speaker, a pair of Beats Studio Pro, or your trusty Beats Studio Buds Plus. They're roughly five feet long, and they can terminate in either a USB-C, Lightning, or USB-A connector.They're also $18.
99. For a cable.Admittedly, these cables are by no means the most expensive cable that Apple produce (that honor goes to the $49 MagSafe braided cord), but at some point it's our job to ask: Is this just highway robbery?Expensive charging(Image credit: Beats/Apple)"But these are nearly two feet longer than the $19 standard Apple 60W charging cables!" A comparative bargain, in that case.
A whole twenty inches of cable for the same price as the normal Apple one.And they're braided! And there's a Beats logo. I've actually got some on me right now — and yes, they are lovely cables.
They're almost rope-like in their texture and the way that they hang. The USB-C connectors click perfectly into their intended slots, and the braiding feels very premium.Like I said, they're lovely cables.
But should you buy them?The answer for me, personally, is no. A quick, cursory Amazon search tells me that you can acquire a similarly braided cable with the same data transfer and the same length (or thereabouts) for a whole eight dollars less.These are 6-foot-long USB-C to USB-C charging cables.
They come in one color — black. They'll charge up to 60W, and they do data transfer at USB 2.0 speeds.
They're also a whole load cheaper than Beats' new offering. No pretty colors though, unfortunately.But you do get two of them in the same box.
View DealThere's more on Amazon than just those, of course, but these are decent, long-lasting cables that'll charge your devices for years to come.There's more on Amazon than just those, of course, but these are decent, long-lasting cables that'll charge your devices for years to come.But that's probably not the point, is it?You want Beats cables because they come in Red, Navy, or Sand.
You're not just buying the Beats cables because you need a charging cable, you're buying them because you want the design. You want that nice braiding, and the snazzy color options. You're looking for something to match your devices.
At that point the price likely stops being quite as much as a consideration.If you think about it, it's a lot like cheese.You could get the mass produced cheddar.
The kind that comes from an unknown farm, but tastes fine and goes straight into a grilled cheese without any complaints from most people.However sometimes it's OK to want the nice cheese. Even if it costs $4 more per block, and lasts for less time.
Do you need the expensive thing? No. But you want it.Everyone's guilty of itAnd there's the point with the Beats cables.
They're far, far too expensive, and they don't do anything extra over the far cheaper options you can find on Amazon.But I get it. They're nice, and they come in pretty colors.
And given some of my purchasing decisions, who am I to judge?Spending $20 cables is egregious, yes. But so is expensive cheese — and I love expensive cheese.As a reputable tech journalist, I don't condone spending twice as much money for a shorter cable, but hey, if this is your aged gruyere I won't shame you.
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