It's a shame so few companies still make high quality 5V/1A chargers anymore. Apple seems to be the only one left that does so, and with consistent and predictable manufacturing.
5V/1A is great for overnight charging. I've noticed my phone battery lasts so much longer the next day.
I don't know if it's unique to them, but Sony slow-charges up to 80-90% until about an hour before you set your alarm, then brings you up to 100% before you wake up. Seems to work well and the battery degradation I've seen, after 4 years, has been very minimal.
It is a crying shame how the official Apple cables seem to be almost intentionally designed to be as fragile as possible. Everyone I have ever known with a MacBook MagSafe chargers has a cable that is in tatters and when I see them it genuinely scares me. And when I ask them about it the response is usually akin to “well it still works and they’re expensive to replace”. True enough if you want to replace it with an official one. Admittedly I haven’t seen any of the newer usb-c ones.
The lightning cables tend to hold up a little better but the jacketing still seems extra thin and flimsy. I've actually only owned 2 iPhones (6s and SE2) and one iPad because I'm not someone who cares about having (or spending the money) on a crazy fancy phone but I do prefer iOS. I've bought a few nice third-party MFI-certified cables after the one that came with my 6s disintegrated and haven't bought a new one since. They were a bit expensive, but they're in as good of shape as when I bought them and well worth the upfront cost.
At least the modern lightning and USB-C cables can be replaced easily and cheaply. In the bad old day of MagSafe, a cable failure meant replacing the entire charger.
As for Apple's recent cables, the rubber has become discoloured on my very-well-used 2017 MacBook Pro USB-C charging cable, but it's still completely intact with no signs of fraying or failing. My ~2.5 year old USB-C to lightning cable seems to be holding up well so far too.
I’ve been using them for a few years and they’re virtually indestructible. They have a thin wire braided into the plastic overmold so they’re extremely tough, and the strain relief on the cable ends is about as good as it gets.
IMHO the issue is getting a genuine one. There are a lot of fake chargers around and even reputable retailers get duped by suppliers. So unless you can buy from Samsung directly, I think Apple is the safer bet. You can walk into any of the Apple Stores or order directly and be 100% sure you're getting the genuine product.
Is there any truth to this? I have noticed battery life vary from 100% depending on if I use a different charger. But it only really happens when I travel, so I chalked it up to different usage patterns or climates.
I’ve always charged my phone with 1A chargers in an attempt to preserve the battery. My current phone is an iPhone X I bought at release in Nov 2017, and the battery health is still at 89% according to the battery information page. Subjectively I still feel like I have good battery life too.
I also purchased an iPhone X on release day and never cared how I charged it (iPad charger, iPhone charger, laptop). My battery health is also 89% — though I do not feel like I am getting great battery life anymore
Anecdotally, I have an iPhone 8 Plus that for the last 18 months or so I've nearly exclusively charged with my Macbook Pro charger, and the battery health is at 82%.
5V/1A is great for overnight charging. I've noticed my phone battery lasts so much longer the next day.