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inCharge X: Is this the one cable to rule them all?
Rolling Square inCharge X
Do you suffer from cable overload?
Are you buried in charging cables for your iPhone, iPad, Android smartphone, and legacy devices that use microUSB?
What if I told you there's one cable that could replace, well, most of your old charging cables?
Enter the Rolling Square inCharge X.
Regular readers might remember that I looked at the inCharge 6 back in May 2020, and the inCharge X is an upgrade on this design. Specifically, it brings 100W USB-C power transfer and support for Apple's 18W fast charge.
The inCharge X has six different charging combinations:
Input | Output | Power |
USB-A | USB-C | 9V 2A / 5V 3A |
Lightning | 9V 2A / 5V 3A | |
microUSB | 5V 2A / 5V 1A | |
USB-C | USB-C | 20V 5A / 9V 2A / 5V 3A |
Lightning | 9V 2A / 5V 3A | |
microUSB | 5V 2A / 5V 1A |
inCharge X (bottom) vs inCharge 6
On top of this, the cable supports data transfer speeds of 480 Mbps and 60 Mbps, depending on whether you're using USB-A or USB-C.
The connectors are joined together by a fabric-covered ribbon cable that's about 4.5 cm long, the cable's overall length is approximately 14.5 cm long, and the folded length is just under 8 cm.
The cable is held together using a magnet, and there's an end cap to protect the connectors from damage when being carried on a keyring or a pocket.
I like that the cable comes in eco packaging -- just cardboard. No plastic to get rid of.
inCharge X comes in eco packaging
Now, my job here is to make sure that the product does what it claims to do and manufacturers don't get too creative with their marketing, and in my testing of the inCharge X, everything checks out.
It works.
There's a lot I like about this cable.
It's compact and quite clever and does everything Rolling Square claims it can do.
And the price -- $29.99 -- is OK in my opinion.
inCharge X is a good quality cable
But there are a few things that bother me.
First, I really don't like that microUSB connector built into the end of the Lightning connector. It works, but it feels weirdly both super tight and super loose.
Personally, I'd like a version of the inCharge that dropped this and added a genuine Apple Lightning connector.
The mechanism for switching between the different connectors also felt very tight initially. It has loosened up with use, but I did worry about breaking something initially.
I worry that I'm going to lose that end cap soon too. The original didn't have one, and I don't think this one will have one for long.
Lots of combinations
Reservations aside, I like the inCharge X. The boost to 100W charging over USB-C is nice, and while I have worries about the combo Lightning/microUSB connector, I was worried about the one on the inCharge 6, too, and that's lasted well.
It's a handy "Swiss Army Knife" of cables. One cable that replaces a bunch of cables. And for $29.99, the Rolling Square inCharge X is handy to pop on a keyring or keep in a pocket.