New gadgets and tech are my Achilles heel. I always want to try out everything and see if it really does what it says it does. When the Miccory Smart Lightning Cable popped up on my radar I was definitely curious. I have an iPhone. I love my iPhone. But I don’t love having to constantly replace lightning cables (charging cables). They’re expensive and tend to break easily (something I’ve mentioned before here). So I’m also interested in new offerings that pop up.
A smart cable? What?
Miccory is a South African company that specialises in a few boutique gadget accessories. The “smart charging cable” offering is the latest product they’ve bought to market. It’s specifically made for iPhones, iPads and iPods. I decided to use it specifically for my iPhone to see if it does what it says it does: which is automatically turn off when your phone battery is charged (and turned on when needed).
Out the box
The packaging for the Miccory smart lightning cable is really nice. The cardboard packaging is neat and there is a basic break down of what the product offers on the back of the box. When I removed the cable I was impressed. It is nylon covered which tends to be stronger and stay cleaner than the more plastic cable you get with your phone. The connections were enforced with a stronger thicker plastic. The ports had an almost brushed aluminium type feel (which I believe is Zinc Alloy) and were embossed with the brand name and product name. The quality of the cable was really good and I think that is important. Regardless of the tech, cables need to last and this one looks designed to do just that.
But does it work?
According to the marketing blurb, the Miccory Lightning Cable will turn off when the device you’re charging has a full battery. Most of us plug our phones in and charge them over night. While phones are “smart” these days and automatically stop charging when it hits 100 percent, overnight charging still isn’t good. Basically every time the phone falls to 99% it begins charging again so you get a trickle effect which eats into your phone’s lifespan. Also, that trickle can cause the phone to heat up. It isn’t going to magically blow up in flames (well, if you have a Samsung, I’m not sure) but it will heat adds to the stress on the lifespan of the phone.
The Miccory cable claims to mitigate constant charging. The USB connection houses a “smart chip” which picks up once the battery is fully charged. It remains on for 30 minutes after this before switching off the charge. If it picks up that the battery needs to be charged again it will switch on. Which, is pretty much what your phone currently does with the cable out the box.. only now you have fancy lights.
So now what?
- The truth is I don’t have any way of testing if this cable and the chip inserted is better for your device’s lifespan than the cable you get with your phone. They’re both ultimately doing the same thing, so we’d need to run proper tests to see which is preferred.
- Without having an electrical engineering degree and the workspace to open this cable up and examine the chip inside, I have no way of confirming the claims made.
- In short there is actually no way of me being able to objectively state that this is going to benefit your phone long term or that the tech inside does what it says it does.
Did the cable charge my iPhone XS? Yes. When plugged in via the wall it charged my phone and stopped charging when the battery was full – just like it said it would. I did have one hiccup I think I need to mention. Plugged in to the power supply from the wall or an external battery pack it worked like a dream. But I do tend to plug my phone in to my MacBook to charge. I struggled to get the cable to work when it was plugged into my Macbook and phone. My phone is the iPhone XS. It constantly stopped charging and then started charging again – usually every 4 or 5 seconds. My phone constantly pinged off that charging noise, which isn’t good. I tried with an iPhone 8 and had a similar issue.
Final thoughts
The Miccory lightning cable costs R399 but is currently on special for R199. You can find out more and how to purchase by clicking here. A certified Apple lightning cable from takealot costs R199. The Miccory is a well made cable if you travel a lot or are “tough” on your cables. The nylon is probably going to last far longer than the out of the box cable which tends to fray from too much use. But does it offer anything more than what you currently have?
I honestly don’t know. It’s well made. It looks good. It charges your phone. But I cannot tell if you if it is “smart” or better than what you currently have.
Disclosure: I was sent a Miccory smart charging cable to keep.
