Fraying apple cables

Low-voltage cables from Apple chargers are infamous for their durability issues:

The issue is caused by repeated torsion of the cable:

As we expose the cable to torsion, the rubber jacket eventually separates from the braid:

However, this separation is already present from the factory at the cable ends as the braid is pulled to one side:

This separation is troublesome because when we further twist the cable, the braid works like a grater, which "eats" the rubber jacket. And eventually, the cable frays.

How to change the cable design to fix fraying:

1. Make the rubber jacket thicker. Apple has already done that with Lightning cables. However, this just delays the fraying.
   
2. Wrap the braid in a foil, to separate the jacket from the braid. The jacket will then nicely slide over the foil instead of getting grated by the braid. The common thickness of the foil is 50 μm. But it can be made as thin as 6 μm. Hence, this change could increase the thickness of the cable only by 12 μm. For comparison, typical hair is 75 μm thick.
   

Conclusion: It is well known that Apple uses badly designed "strain reliefs" at the cable ends. But that does not explain why the cables fray in the middle (as illustrated in the first photo) as well and not just at the ends.