Penzo Magnetic Charging and Data microUSB Cable Review

Penzo Magnetic Charging and Data microUSB Cable Review

Buy it at Amazon: Penzo Magnetic Charging and Data microUSB Cable [Affiliate Link]

Takeaway: Easy to install, charges somewhat slowly, fit is a bit snug and connector a tad long.

You'll get a 40" braided nylon cable with aluminum connectors and a separating magnetic microUSB tip. The connector is designed to stay plugged into your device for a quick release and assembly magnetic connection. Bringing the magnetic ends together completes the circuit and the magnet works in both directions so you don't have to worry about which side is up. The metal casing on the connectors feel durable and below them is a thick plastic strain relief to prevent breakage of the cable and wear. The fabric cable is durable, semi-stiff but flexible and helps reduce tangles and knots.

When the cord is plugged into a power source, the LED on the magnetic connector side shows green. For some devices, it'll change to blue when the connection is complete, but on others I found that it remained green so you still had to make sure the magnet was seated correctly and the device was charging. The LED only appears on one side of the cable, though it doesn't need to face any particular direction when connecting to the tip. The connection is a breakaway so that if you move the device while plugged in, it'll simply disconnect rather than dragging the cable with it. The one thing that I didn't like is that the tip is a little bit long which makes it stick out of some devices somewhat awkwardly. This not only exposes it to some risk of damage, but it could also get snagged on something, pull off and get lost. On some devices the tip was really snug in the port and took a bit of work to remove. It would have helped if there was a notch to help you remove it from your device if it is seated flush.

Other than that, the cable works pretty well for charging, but not for fast charging, and is easy to connect and disconnect. Some devices were not recognized using the cable for data transfers, though. If you'll be using this with a phone that has a case on it, you'll need the charging port cutout to be at least 3/8" wide to accommodate the tip and about 1/2" to accommodate the other side of the magnet depending how thick the case is.

Buy it at Amazon: Penzo Magnetic Charging and Data microUSB Cable [Affiliate Link]