2 year lifespan, seriously? My phone's standard mini-USB cable is at least 5 years old by now, and shows zero signs of wear. What the hell is Apple doing to make such awful cables?
Edit: Correction - it's a micro-USB cable.
Edit: Correction - it's a micro-USB cable.
By the way, I guess that your phone's standard cable is not mini-USB but micro-USB.
I've had iPhones since 2014 and still have all chargers and cables.
I guess some people just mistreat their cables alot more. If anything Apple has actually been the responsible one only using 2 different connectors, while the rest of the industry have been doing; mini usb, micro usb and now usb-c. And before they - with the advent of iPhone - started with usb connectors all phone manufacturers had their own proprietary connectors.
Who knows what comes along in 5 years on the usb side.
I sure hope Apple stays off USB-C on iPhones for a good while.