I have had an iPhone since the 3s, and Apple cords have always been a POS in my opinion. Every cord has pulled and cracked right at the end of the cord where it goes into the plastic piece. Every one. Now with the lightening cable end on both the earphones and the charge cord, the same thing will happen with the ear buds. I bought my current model, a 7+ in October, and have already replaced my first cord that came with it, and getting ready to replace the second one. I have yet to find even an non-Apple cord that is worth the price, because before I got my 7+ I’ve had every model of iPhone and have tried non-Apple cords. I see now where you can buy a product that looks like a ballpoint end spring, which people have tried those, but this spring designed for the cords, has a piece of the print where it goes over the plastic piece. Since I just saw it on FB last week, I haven’t seen one in local stores, but want to try it. Why Apple and other brands haven’t figured out how to make the cords better, I don’t know, but I expect it’s a good money maker for them.