Why do lightning cables break so easily? Very flaud design!

You have damage at the base of the strain relief. That usually indicates you have been unplugging the cable by pulling on the cable rather than on the body of the connector itself.

I will admit I have also seen that damage due to severe UV exposure over time, like a cable that spends all day in direct sunlight in a car every day for a few years.

Apple uses a lightweight and flexible wire for connecting their mobile products. This is actually very nice except they won't take much abuse. Cables breaking at the plug is a common problem across the industry. That is why strain reliefs are made. You'll notice that the cable on your other connector is a little heavier and stiffer which will protect it a little more from too much flexing near the plug.

Also, even if the cable doesn't break, there are some other things unique to these cables that can go wrong. I've had several 3rd party cables just stop working (6 in the last 3 years). If I understand correctly those lightning plugs aren't passive. I.e., they don't just connect the wires to the various pins on the connector. There are electronics inside the plug between the wires and the pin connectors. The electronics themselves can go bad.

Which makes me wonder, If one end of one of these cables is plugged into an active device (i.e., turned on), and the exposed pins on the free end of the cable are shorted or gets wet, can this cause the electronics in the plug to be damaged? Is there anyone in the forum here familiar with the guts of the lightning cable plugs that might answer this?

If you have been using iPhones since they were introduced, then do you still have your 30-pin connectors? If so, you might want to consider using a Lightning to 30-pin Adapter. I use the adapters because I like to be able to charge my iPad 1 and my iPhones with the same cable. I have not had any issues with the adapters, and the 30-pin cable is from my original iPad that I got in 2010 is only now beginning to show a little wear:

Lightning to 30-pin Adapter - Apple

Just a thought....

Best,

GB

Based on how filthy that cable is, it has been subjected to some pretty hard wear.

If you don't abuse them, they don't break

I have lightning cables that are a couple of years old that are fine.

If you don't like the Apple cables, try Amazon basics.