I see a lot of confusion over how charging works on this year’s iPhones so I wanted to do a quick breakdown:
First, know that the iPhones for the past several years have been capable of pretty much two easy charging options. They included a 5W charger (this is the same charger included this year). It is fairly slow but it gets the job done fine for overnight charging. But what many didn’t know is that iPhones have long been capable of charging much faster than the standard charger allows, thanks to tablet chargers. Tablet chargers are typically 10-12W (iPad chargers are currently 10W). iPhones can draw from these faster speeds for a way quicker, nearly doubled charge speed. So if you happen to have a tablet charger and don’t want to spend money for faster charging, the joke’s on you and you’ve had a faster charger than the default speed available already.
Now, to 2017 we go.
What’s changed this year are two things: iPhones released this year can charge wirelessly (up to 7.5W via any Qi standard compatible charger) and wired charging can now go up to 18W [based on industry analysis] when using a USB C to Lightning cable (thus being even faster than the 10-12W tablet charger speeds all iPhones were quietly allowed to do before, and about triple the speed of the charger iPhone comes with).
Now tragically, Apple still is only giving you a standard USB 5W charger and cable in the box. So this means for those looking to max out the charge speeds, you need accessories.
First, wired Fast Charging. This will allow your charge to hit around 50% in just 30 minutes. To get this, you must own a USB C to Lightning cable - which unlike regular Lightning cables you get with the phone that can be replaced with a certified and affordable third party option if needed, only Apple currently sells the certified USB C to Lightning cable options. Second, you need a USB C wall adapter that delivers 18W or more. Now many people are getting confused because Apple mentions testing the Fast Charging with their own 29W and higher adapters they include with the various MacBooks, but they cleverly avoid disclosing and clarifying that buying their 60W+ chargers aren’t any faster than the 29W charger, and that in fact 29W is not the actual power draw - you only need an 18W+ USB C adapter to max out the 2017 iPhone models’ power draw. Many third party USB C adapters are available, but do note you are looking for models that don’t rely on Quick Charge 2.0/3.0, as that branding is an Android related standard and iPhone simply draws a true USB C power level, called Power Delivery 3.0 (an easy way to know if it has this standard is if the adapter is labeled as compatible with Nintendo Switch - a game console that requires Power Delivery 3.0 from its USB C power adapters as well).
Next is Wireless - the headliner change to iPhone in the charging realm. First thing to know is that iPhones use the Qi Wireless Charging standard and older iPhones from 2016 or earlier have no built in ability to charge wirelessly at all. You should also know that Apple won’t be selling a wireless charger of their own until 2018, but it has been announced (it will utilize the Qi standard and also has added features that Apple is hoping to help get adapted into the standard). Thankfully, since Qi is a standard and has been well received by many companies before Apple, there are hundreds of good wireless chargers that work with iPhone already on the market. As far as power speed, here’s the gist: iPhone comes out of the box ready for 5W (yes, the same slow speed as the default wired charger in the box), but with a software update this year they will accept a charge of 7.5W and will thus be faster than the default iPhone wired charger, but still slower than using an iPad charger or the new even faster option of USB C Fast Charging. So for that reason, those looking to take advantage of wireless charging should look for chargers capable of 7.5W or greater (while a couple of third party wireless chargers are available on the Apple Store site at this exact speed, it is unusual). A downside here, however, is that Apple is not using the fastest wireless speeds supported by Qi on smartphones and would likely make next year’s iPhones charge faster wirelessly since this year’s are kind of behind the curve already. For that reason, you will see many third party chargers are capable of 10-15W. I’d recommend those looking to be able to get the most out of wireless beyond just this year to seek out a wireless charger capable of 10W or greater, as it is highly likely that as early as next year, iPhones will come with the capability to receive 10W or higher from Qi chargers.
Somewhat annoyingly, USB C and Lightning are new to iPhone and not really intersecting with wireless options yet on the larger market, so unless you wait, you won’t see many Qi chargers use a Lightning cable or USB C or both prevalently, if at all. This should change now that iPhone has joined the race, but it makes those who want both fast wired and wireless charger in their homes a little stuck buying multiple types of cables.
So those are the basics. Many of these products can be found on the Apple Store now. Here are some links, but shop around for deals:
USB C 30W wall adapter: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B06Y427WT7/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?smid=A294P4X9EWVXLJ&psc=1
USB C to Lightning Cable: https://www.apple.com/shop/product/...05862e4019c205b6c323fbc3b2ed29a3573f77a8d1a78
Qi Wireless 10W Charging pad (no adapter included, but can plug into an iPad charger or similar 10W+ charger to use at full speed): https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01KJL4XNY/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A294P4X9EWVXLJ&psc=1
First, know that the iPhones for the past several years have been capable of pretty much two easy charging options. They included a 5W charger (this is the same charger included this year). It is fairly slow but it gets the job done fine for overnight charging. But what many didn’t know is that iPhones have long been capable of charging much faster than the standard charger allows, thanks to tablet chargers. Tablet chargers are typically 10-12W (iPad chargers are currently 10W). iPhones can draw from these faster speeds for a way quicker, nearly doubled charge speed. So if you happen to have a tablet charger and don’t want to spend money for faster charging, the joke’s on you and you’ve had a faster charger than the default speed available already.
Now, to 2017 we go.
What’s changed this year are two things: iPhones released this year can charge wirelessly (up to 7.5W via any Qi standard compatible charger) and wired charging can now go up to 18W [based on industry analysis] when using a USB C to Lightning cable (thus being even faster than the 10-12W tablet charger speeds all iPhones were quietly allowed to do before, and about triple the speed of the charger iPhone comes with).
Now tragically, Apple still is only giving you a standard USB 5W charger and cable in the box. So this means for those looking to max out the charge speeds, you need accessories.
First, wired Fast Charging. This will allow your charge to hit around 50% in just 30 minutes. To get this, you must own a USB C to Lightning cable - which unlike regular Lightning cables you get with the phone that can be replaced with a certified and affordable third party option if needed, only Apple currently sells the certified USB C to Lightning cable options. Second, you need a USB C wall adapter that delivers 18W or more. Now many people are getting confused because Apple mentions testing the Fast Charging with their own 29W and higher adapters they include with the various MacBooks, but they cleverly avoid disclosing and clarifying that buying their 60W+ chargers aren’t any faster than the 29W charger, and that in fact 29W is not the actual power draw - you only need an 18W+ USB C adapter to max out the 2017 iPhone models’ power draw. Many third party USB C adapters are available, but do note you are looking for models that don’t rely on Quick Charge 2.0/3.0, as that branding is an Android related standard and iPhone simply draws a true USB C power level, called Power Delivery 3.0 (an easy way to know if it has this standard is if the adapter is labeled as compatible with Nintendo Switch - a game console that requires Power Delivery 3.0 from its USB C power adapters as well).
Next is Wireless - the headliner change to iPhone in the charging realm. First thing to know is that iPhones use the Qi Wireless Charging standard and older iPhones from 2016 or earlier have no built in ability to charge wirelessly at all. You should also know that Apple won’t be selling a wireless charger of their own until 2018, but it has been announced (it will utilize the Qi standard and also has added features that Apple is hoping to help get adapted into the standard). Thankfully, since Qi is a standard and has been well received by many companies before Apple, there are hundreds of good wireless chargers that work with iPhone already on the market. As far as power speed, here’s the gist: iPhone comes out of the box ready for 5W (yes, the same slow speed as the default wired charger in the box), but with a software update this year they will accept a charge of 7.5W and will thus be faster than the default iPhone wired charger, but still slower than using an iPad charger or the new even faster option of USB C Fast Charging. So for that reason, those looking to take advantage of wireless charging should look for chargers capable of 7.5W or greater (while a couple of third party wireless chargers are available on the Apple Store site at this exact speed, it is unusual). A downside here, however, is that Apple is not using the fastest wireless speeds supported by Qi on smartphones and would likely make next year’s iPhones charge faster wirelessly since this year’s are kind of behind the curve already. For that reason, you will see many third party chargers are capable of 10-15W. I’d recommend those looking to be able to get the most out of wireless beyond just this year to seek out a wireless charger capable of 10W or greater, as it is highly likely that as early as next year, iPhones will come with the capability to receive 10W or higher from Qi chargers.
Somewhat annoyingly, USB C and Lightning are new to iPhone and not really intersecting with wireless options yet on the larger market, so unless you wait, you won’t see many Qi chargers use a Lightning cable or USB C or both prevalently, if at all. This should change now that iPhone has joined the race, but it makes those who want both fast wired and wireless charger in their homes a little stuck buying multiple types of cables.
So those are the basics. Many of these products can be found on the Apple Store now. Here are some links, but shop around for deals:
USB C 30W wall adapter: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B06Y427WT7/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?smid=A294P4X9EWVXLJ&psc=1
USB C to Lightning Cable: https://www.apple.com/shop/product/...05862e4019c205b6c323fbc3b2ed29a3573f77a8d1a78
Qi Wireless 10W Charging pad (no adapter included, but can plug into an iPad charger or similar 10W+ charger to use at full speed): https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01KJL4XNY/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A294P4X9EWVXLJ&psc=1
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