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Charging cables are the most replaced accessory most people own. They fray at the neck, tangle in bags and disappear into couch cushions. The Native Union Belt Cable is an attempt to make a cable you keep rather than replace. It pairs a heavily braided Lightning cable with a small leather strap that holds it coiled when you pack it, and it is built to look at home on a desk instead of hiding behind it.
What it is
The Belt Cable is a charging and sync cable for iPhones, iPads and AirPods with a Lightning port. Native Union sells it in several connector combinations. The one most people will want today connects Universal Serial Bus Type C (USB-C) on the charger end to Lightning on the device end, though versions with the older, rectangular USB-A plug are also available. The standard cable is 4 feet long, and the Belt Cable XL stretches to 10 feet.
The strap
The feature that gives the cable its name is a leather strap that sits near one end. When you are done charging, you loop the cable into a coil and wrap the strap around it, so it goes into a bag as a neat bundle instead of a knot. It sounds like a small thing. In practice it is the difference between pulling out a usable cable in an airport lounge and spending a minute untangling it.
Native Union describes the strap on its USB-A version as genuine leather and on its USB-C versions as bonded leather. Either way, it is part of the design language. The cable looks more like a desk accessory than a commodity cord, which is a big part of its appeal.
Braiding and durability
The main reason cables fail is stress at the joints where the wire meets the plug. Native Union addresses that with reinforced braiding along the length of the cable. On its USB-C to Lightning models, the company says that braiding is paired with an aramid fiber core, the same family of fibers used for strength in demanding textiles, to withstand wear and tear. The braided jacket also resists kinks and tangles better than a plain rubber coating.
Native Union backs the cable with a lifetime limited warranty, according to its product pages, which is a good signal that the company expects it to last.
Certification and charging speed
The Belt Cable is Made for iPhone (MFi) certified by Apple. That certification means the Lightning connector uses Apple approved components, so the cable should not trigger the warning that an accessory is not supported, and it should behave reliably across software updates. The USB-C to Lightning model is also certified by the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF), the group that maintains the USB standards.
That USB-C version supports Power Delivery (PD), a fast charging standard. Native Union says that when you pair it with a PD capable charger, it can charge a compatible iPhone up to 50 percent in under 30 minutes. If you are still using an older USB-A wall plug, you will get standard charging speeds, so it is worth pairing this cable with a modern charger to get the full benefit.
Standard or XL
The standard 4 foot length is the one to choose for a bag, a car or a desk where the outlet is close by. It is long enough to use your phone while it charges without being so long that it piles up. The Belt Cable XL runs 10 feet, which solves a different problem. It is the cable you want next to a bed where the outlet is behind a headboard, on a couch far from the wall or in a hotel room with outlets in all the wrong places.
Many people end up with both, one in the travel kit and one at home. The leather strap matters even more on the XL, because a 10 foot cable without a strap becomes a tangle almost immediately.
Who it suits
The Belt Cable makes the most sense for people who travel often, people who care about how their desk looks and anyone who keeps buying cheap replacement cables. It is not a necessity if you rarely move your charger, and it is a less obvious buy if you already have a device that charges over USB-C on both ends. For anyone living with Lightning devices for a while yet, it is one of the nicer ways to do it.
If you are putting together a tidy desk setup, it pairs well with the Logitech MX Keys S keyboard and the MX Master 3S mouse. For a travel kit, our roundup of carry on travel backpacks is a good place to start, and the Orbitkey key organizer follows a similar idea of making small everyday items tidier.
Where to buy
For more desk and travel accessories, browse our desk and everyday carry hub.
