We know a thing or two about cables and cords here at WIRED. It’s in our name, after all. These unsung heroes of tech connect our gadgets, power our devices, and deliver our data. You may not immediately think of wires when you think of Prime Day deals, but we have untangled a few choice discounts from Amazon’s random box of cables, and it turns out this is a good time to up your cable game. Oh, and don’t forget to check out our nonstop Prime Day live blog for more goodies on WIRED-tested gear.
We test products year-round and handpicked these deals. We’ll update this guide periodically throughout the sale event.
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Cable Deals
This Intel-certified Thunderbolt 4 cable is the one cable to rule them all and our top pick of the Best USB-C Cables. It can supply 100 watts (enough to charge a laptop) and transfer data at up to 40 Gbps. It can hook up an 8K display (or two 4K displays), supports both DisplayPort Alt Mode (DP Alt Mode) and USB Power Delivery (USB-PD), including PPS, and is backward-compatible with all earlier standards. We don’t often see discounts on this cable, and the 3.3-foot has never been this low before. The 6.6-foot cable is also discounted to $48 ($12 off).
This USB-C to USB-C cable can handle fast charging and speedy data transfers. It is rated to carry 100 watts, so it can be used to power the beefiest MacBook Pro. It also transmits data at up to 10 gigabits per second (Gbps). The USB-IF certification means it complies with standards set by the USB Implementers Forum. It even comes with a lifetime warranty.
It’s all well and good having a bunch of cables, but do you always have the cable you need to hand? Slip this Swiss-designed multi-cable onto your key ring and you will. It offers six charging combinations, with USB-C and USB-A on one end of the short braided cable, and Lightning, MicroUSB, and USB-C on the other.
If you need a USB-A to USB-C cable, this one from UGreen will do nicely. It is a USB-IF-certified, braided nylon cable that offers reasonably speedy charging (18 watts) and data transfer (5 Gbps) to boot. This is the first I’ve seen a discount on this cable.
Clip the coupon code to see the full discount at checkout, bringing the price to $12. Forget tangles with this clever, flat retractable cable that comes in a few fun colors. Pull the USB-C ends and you can fix it at preset lengths (1.1, 1.9, 2.7, or 3.3 feet). When you’re done, simply pull and release to trigger the cable to coil back up inside the case.
WIRED editor Julian Chokkattu has had this little thing on his keychain for more than a year, and it’s come in handy when he forgot to pack a USB-C cable. The two ends stick magnetically together, and you can pull them apart and plug one end into your phone or laptop to juice it up in a pinch if you have access to a wall charger. It supports up to 60 watts of power, which is plenty for a lot of gadgets, and it’s quite compact. The USB-C to Lightning version is also on sale at Nomad’s website if you have an older iPhone with the Lightning port.
Have a TV or game system you need to plug in but they’re far apart? WIRED editor Julian Chokkattu used this 50-foot HDMI cable to connect his gaming PC in his office to the TV in the living room. That allowed him to play Red Dead Redemption 2 on the big screen while his wife watched his antics. There are other sizes to choose from too.
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Photograph: Simon Hill