[amluto]

You have this backwards. Apple’s shoddy (but slim!) cable construction notwithstanding, the Lightning male metal bit is quite strong. The parts that wear out are the springy parts in the female connector. USB-C puts the springy parts in the male connector.

(Lightning also seems prone to arcing or overheating damage to the power pins. Source: visual inspection of my many failed Apple and third-party Lightning cables.)

[sascha_sl]

Yes, I've had every lightning cable, apple or not, show darkened and eventually dying 4th pins. It's infuriating. You essentially have to unplug the USB-A side first to prevent it from happening.

Strange enough I've not seen this happen to a lot of other people.

[chipotle_coyote]

Strange enough I've not seen this happen to a lot of other people.

Yeah, I've never had that happen, and I've been using Lightning cables since they were a thing. I've rarely had any problems with Lightning cables, though. (The same couldn't be said for their predecessor 30-pin cable.)

I'm trying to think if there could be anything weird about your environment doing that, but I'm drawing a blank. "You're holding it wrong" seems even less applicable here than it would to antennas. :)

[velosol]

Living closer to the coast (high humidity and salt content), living in the drier regions of the country (low humidity) could be part of the puzzle.

[gervase]

This happens to me constantly. I was going through 3-5 cables per year before I switched to inductive charging.