Filtration-free magnetic USB cables are here

What if your cable could magnetically stick to it itself, forming a neat spool that does not get completely floppy and tangled in your drawers and bags? What if they were also good cables that could charge and sync all things via USB-C, Lightning and more?

Well … you can now buy USB cables that do that first part! And they’re cool enough that I really wish cable manufacturers would figure out the rest of that shit.

In the last few weeks, I’ve been testing some seriously smart USB cables that can actually do the magnetic coil hose trick. They were originally brought to the attention of the English-speaking world by a brand called SuperCalla, and they are now sold by a whole bunch of unnamed brands at e.g. Amazon and Alibaba. And they are incredible fidget toys, just like the SuperCallas Indiegogo campaign promised over two years ago:

As you can see in my picture below, they rewind just like the GIF! They’re not exactly “self-winning,” as some sellers claim, but the six-footers are certainly easy to pack.

*Your coil may be higher or wider depending on how many magnets per circle – but only these six-foot cables give you enough to work with.*

They work by stringing magnetic beads and silicone sheaths on a thin cable, like this:

*See, it’s just a magnetic bead when you pull the silicone sleeve away. Both float freely on the cable.*

They can also stick to themselves in other ways:

*You can make a cable double back on itself.*

And of course, you can attach them to all sorts of other ferrous metal objects and pay out as much cable as you need. I have one of these cables hanging from my metal microphone stand right now, another dangling from the corner of my wall and another moving nicely down the edge of my keyboard while charging my phone:

*The magnets stick to the steel tires of my Razer keyboard. This would not work with for example an Apple keyboard because they are made of aluminum.*

Ready for the catch? I bought four different kinds of cables, and they all sucks big time (it is a technical term) by data transfer, charging or both.

This one, which also has its own built-in blue LED light and magnetic interchangeable tips for USB-C, micro-USB and Lightning, will not charge most of my USB-C gadgets at all, but I was able to sling some files from an external drive with weak USB 2.0 speeds and charging my iPhone over Lightning. It also has super weak coil magnets and felt even cheaper than the rest.

This USB-C to USB-C was pretty decent for charging, giving me 65W USB-C PD power and had the best magnets in the pile – but it would not connect to a Pixel 4A phone or my USB-C external drive at all. They just did not show up at my desk!

This USB-A to USB-C cable was the worst of the lot. Just wiggling it would disconnect everything I had connected, and it peaked at 10W charging – not the 15-18W I would normally see with my Pixel.

Finally, this USB-A for Lightning appears to be a SuperCalla cable that appears in an “Original SuperCalla” box, even though it is sold by a brand called “Tech.” Slow charging, slow data, but at least it seems to remain reliably connected to my iPhone so far.

But it’s not the only style of magnetic cable without entanglement I found. I also bought this nice accordion style, which is perhaps the best of the bunch: I got 15W charging and it feels better built than the rest.

*The accordion cable may twist when you pull it apart.*

But it is less fun to play with, the magnets are not as strong, and it has got a slightly awkward shape when it is completely stretched, because the joints will always protrude. Additionally, it tops with USB 2.0 speeds of 480 Mbps (or about 42 MB / s in practice.) I could not find a C-to-C or Lightning version.

I would definitely pay good money for a solid, reliable six foot USB-C to USB-C easy-coil cable with strong magnets, 100 W USB-C PD charging and at least 10 Gbps USB 3.x bandwidth.

*However, the flexible straps and joints feel durable.*

Or, if I really dream, what about 40 Gbps for USB 4? Let’s break and make the ultimate cable – give it a built-in power meter while you’re at it.

Right now, all I’ve found are these cheap-o, $ 10 news cables, and it’s really a shame. The magnetic design deserves better, and so do we.