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How to pick
This is the category where brand actually matters and where I will not budge, because a bad cable is the one that charges intermittently and gets blamed on the device. Anker and UGREEN both make this properly and neither is expensive. Buy braided and buy longer than you think. On HDMI there is no magic in an expensive cable, but there is a real difference between a decent one and the freebie in the box, and swapping it is the cheapest thing to rule out when a screen flickers. On ethernet, Cat6 is the sensible default and a cable beats Wi-Fi every time if the room is reachable.
What I recommend
Charging cables
This is the category where brand actually matters and where I will not budge. A bad cable is the one that charges intermittently and gets blamed on the device. Anker and UGREEN both make this properly and neither is expensive.
Anker or UGREEN braided USB-C cable
Gas station cables fray at the plug within a month and then charge on and off. Buy braided, buy longer than you think, and the problem is gone for years.
- Braided cables last years rather than months
- Longer is far more useful in practice
- Cheap for the aggravation saved
- Stiffer and heavier than thin cables
- Check the ends match your devices
- Very long cables charge slightly slower
USB-C to USB-A adapter
A couple of these in a drawer means an old memory stick or a wired mouse still works without hunting for a hub. Buy a pair, because you will lose one.
- Tiny and cheap
- Saves buying a whole hub
- Keeps older kit usable
- Very easy to lose
- Converts, does not add ports
- Cheap ones can be loose in the socket
- For
- Old memory sticks and wired mice
- Buy
- A pair, you will lose one
- Size
- Small enough to leave on the cable
- Cost
- A few dollars
Video and network
No magic in an expensive HDMI cable, but a real difference between a decent one and the freebie in the box.
UGREEN HDMI cable
If a TV or monitor flickers or drops out, swapping this is the cheapest thing to rule out first. Get HDMI 2.0 or 2.1 and a length with some slack.
- Cheap, and fixes a surprising number of faults
- 2.1 supports 4K at 120Hz
- Braided versions survive being moved
- Very long runs need an active cable
- Version marketing is deliberately confusing
- No benefit from spending more than modest money
- Version
- HDMI 2.0 or 2.1
- Supports
- 4K at 60Hz minimum
- Length
- 6 ft or longer
- Jacket
- Braided if it gets moved about
UGREEN Cat6 ethernet cable
Wi-Fi is convenient, a cable is reliable. If your computer or TV sits near the router, plugging in directly solves a surprising number of problems. Buy some slack so it is not pulled tight across a doorway.
- Faster and steadier than wireless
- Never needs configuring
- Immune to interference
- Very cheap
- Only helps if you can run the cable
- Trailing cables are a trip hazard
- Flat cables are neater but more fragile
- Category
- Cat6
- Speed
- Up to 1 Gbps
- Connector
- RJ45
- Lengths
- 3 ft up to 50 ft
Power
One good multi port brick replaces the drawer full of old ones.
Anker Nano or UGREEN Nexode charger
One small brick that charges a phone, a tablet and a laptop, and does not cook itself doing it. GaN technology makes them far smaller than they used to be.
- Replaces several old chargers
- GaN keeps them remarkably small
- 65W is enough for most laptops
- Power is shared across ports
- Cables sold separately
- Costs more than a single port charger
- Power
- 65W or more to run a laptop
- Ports
- At least two
- Type
- GaN, for a much smaller brick
- Mix
- USB-C plus a USB-A is handy
Anker PowerCore power bank
For long days out, travel, or the next time the power goes down and you still need a phone. Anker have made these longer than anyone and it shows in how they hold charge sitting in a bag for a month.
- Holds charge for weeks unused
- 10,000mAh is about two phone charges
- Pocketable
- Adds real weight to a bag
- Airline capacity limits apply
- Slow to recharge itself
- Capacity
- 10,000 mAh for a phone
- Bigger
- 20,000 mAh to charge a laptop
- Ports
- USB-C in and out
- Flying
- Check your airline's limit
Related reading
Drawer full of cables and no idea what they do?
Bring them along. I will tell you what to keep and what to throw out.