One other thing, there are substandard cables out there, too. My wife's phone and iPad keyboard (charging port) will not connect with monoprice house brand micro-USB cables. If I use a cable that came with a Kindle or her phone (I'm pretty sure its the kindle cable, though) it plugs in fine.
I agree though, for small connections, the lightning connector is a much better design. And for audio stuff, there is almost no reason not to use a USB-A connector. They don't need to be that small.