Anker make quality alternative cables, they can be bought relatively cheaply on amazon, but not super-cheap by any stretch. The apple cables tend to break fairly easily.
That said, charging cables will be a thing of the past in the not too distant future. Ikea are already selling furniture...
I also just got the 8 plus, don't actually like the design of the X, nor the face scan thing. First-gen technology is always tempremental anyway.
Also managed to get a fantastic deal on it that was cheaper than a lot of deals around for the 7 plus :shrug:
I upgraded from the 3 year old iphone 6.
I'm done with Apple as far as their laptops go. The decision to remove all ports except USB-C is just ridiculously stupid.
However as for smartphones they are still the best* around.
*this is an opinion