You Can Only Use First Party Apple Chargers

Of course, Apple would like this myth to be true, as you’d be forced to buy Apple chargers for the rest of your life.

Luckily, many third-party phone chargers work great — if not better — with your iPhone. They’re also often more affordable than Apple’s offering. 

Of course, if you want to buy a cheaper third-party charger, you need to be a bit more careful. You can’t buy any charger, as some cheap options could harm your iPhone.

For older iPhones with Lightning ports, you should ensure that your cables are MFi-certified. Apple gives third-party companies this license to let us know their accessories are “Made For iPhone.” You can use Apple’s MFi Licensed Accessories Search page to find out more about the specific product you want to buy.

However, that’s only necessary for the part that connects to the Lightning port. Since USB is an industry standard, the charger on the other end (and the cable, if you’re using an iPhone 15 or later) need only be USB-compliant. Stick with a reputable brand, and you’ll be fine, but you can also check the USB-IF Product Search page if you want to be sure the product you’re considering has passed USB compliance testing.