I've been shopping for a replacement 5W charger (AC to USB adapter) for my phone and I'm getting really pissed off. It looks like every "genuine Apple OEM" charger cube you can find - outside the Apple store - is actually counterfeit. Even the ones shipped by Amazon, listed by Apple as an authorized supplier, appear to often be fake. Some fakes are obvious in the ads but many are not, since the sellers use Apple stock photos in their ads. Models are A1265 and A1385 (same specs, just a new number).
Why not buy from Apple? They want $19. The obvious counterfeit ones are <$2. In the $5-10 price range, there might be some genuine adapters out there but it's very hard to tell.
There's a good video showing the real differences of both electrical performance and build quality. Some people argue that the cheap fakes are "good enough" but this particular video clearly shows why that isn't true. Never mind the safety issues of the fakes. There's also a good analysis of the genuine charger design here. I believe the charger was designed by Flextronics, and they may make them as well.
I may try buying some moderately cheap ones from a source that will take returns. If I can identify them as fakes, I'll just send them back.
Question: Anyone here have a favorite AC-to-USB adapter? Need 5V, 1A rating or better. I like the little white cubes but really it just needs to work safely to spec. Not interested in anything over ~$10 unless the amp rating exceeds 1A.
Why not buy from Apple? They want $19. The obvious counterfeit ones are <$2. In the $5-10 price range, there might be some genuine adapters out there but it's very hard to tell.
There's a good video showing the real differences of both electrical performance and build quality. Some people argue that the cheap fakes are "good enough" but this particular video clearly shows why that isn't true. Never mind the safety issues of the fakes. There's also a good analysis of the genuine charger design here. I believe the charger was designed by Flextronics, and they may make them as well.
I may try buying some moderately cheap ones from a source that will take returns. If I can identify them as fakes, I'll just send them back.
Question: Anyone here have a favorite AC-to-USB adapter? Need 5V, 1A rating or better. I like the little white cubes but really it just needs to work safely to spec. Not interested in anything over ~$10 unless the amp rating exceeds 1A.
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