Question about 'Fast Charging'...

[The_Prodigy1982]

Last week I got my iPhone XS, and decided to check charging rates.
First I used the default 5W charger, that the phone came with... the day after I used a 30W adapter (incl. a USB-C to Lightning cable).

Here are my findings;

[ Default 5W charging ]

20% charged after 30 min
38% charged after 1 hour
54% charged after 1,5 hours
82% charged after 2 hours
94% charged after 2,5 hours
Fully charged after 3 hours
-------
Total time needed: 3 hours

[ Fast 30W charging ]

53% charged after 30 min
81% charged after 1 hour
95% charged after 1,5 hours
Fully charged after 2 hours
-------
Total time needed: 2 hours

• As you can see, there's 'only' a 1 hour advantage over the default 5W adapter, the biggest gain is made in the first 30 min.

Now I'm wondering, would it make any sense to get an even faster charger in the near future, in order to have more time advantage?
(for example get a 61W, or even a 81W adapter)

Does anyone know what the limit is, that the XS can take?
(would be kinda useless to get a 81W adapter, only to find out the XS has a limit of 30W)

 

[Speedygi]

With the capacity that iPhones have , I think fast charging should be much faster than what Android phones have, but currently even Android phones with 4000mAh charge faster than 2 hours.

 

[Wotchered]

Interesting, so what happens if you start fast charging at 50% ? this is a circumstance familiar to me, where I know 50% will not carry me through to my return to my charger, and I need to leave soon.

 

[Spencerdl]

Thanks for the review. I personally like the fast charging. Yes, an hour for fully charged makes a difference and so does the other levels.

 

[Annie_M]

I think saving an hour has great value! Great information, btw! Thanks for sharing!

 

[TripleOne]

I enjoy fast charging as well. Especially when charging from 20-80%.

 

[flyinion]

It's designed to charge faster when the battery is lower then slows down as it gets full. I remember last year seeing a graph of 5W vs 12W vs fast charge vs 5 and 7.5W wireless charging and the 12W iPad charger was nearly as fast to the 90%+ range as the fast charge setup. The difference was in that first 20-30 minutes or so.

 

[MaxSmarties]

My personal advice is not to go faster than an iPad charger. Fast charging is ruining your battery over a long time.

 

[MaxSmarties]

It's designed to charge faster when the battery is lower then slows down as it gets full. I remember last year seeing a graph of 5W vs 12W vs fast charge vs 5 and 7.5W wireless charging and the 12W iPad charger was nearly as fast to the 90%+ range as the fast charge setup. The difference was in that first 20-30 minutes or so.

Do you still have the link for that article ?
It was very interesting but I lost it.

 

[flyinion]

Do you still have the link for that article ?
It was very interesting but I lost it.

Sorry no it was like a year ago. Maybe search the imore site I think it was an article linking to the actual site that had it.

 

[MaxSmarties]

Sorry no it was like a year ago. Maybe search the imore site I think it was an article linking to the actual site that had it.

Thank you!

 

[Terb]

Nice review, thanks. I use the 12W iPad charger, happy with that.

 

[John Yester]

All I use now is Anker 30W Bricks and no issues.

 

[MaxSmarties]

Sorry no it was like a year ago. Maybe search the imore site I think it was an article linking to the actual site that had it.

Here the link we were speaking about

https://www.macrumors.com/guide/iphone-x-fast-charging-speeds-compared/

 

[flyinion]

Here the link we were speaking about

https://www.macrumors.com/guide/iphone-x-fast-charging-speeds-compared/

Yep that's it! I don't normally need the "X amount of charge in 20-30 minutes" benefit of a fast charge so that article was what convinced me not to spend the extra money on the hardware since I already have a bunch of 12W iPad chargers laying around.

 

[Spencerdl]

My personal advice is not to go faster than an iPad charger. Fast charging is ruining your battery over a long time.

I agree. I think staying between 7.5W and 12W fast charging is your best bet...and from doing research choose a wireless fast charger with Qi technology which is what Apple uses in the newer wireless charging iPhones.

 

[Almeuit]

Yep the first 30 mins is noticeable on my iPhone XS Max. It is nice for when I really need it otherwise I don't care. I use my USB-C brick w/ USB-C to lightning cable really only at work. At home I just use the iPad brick.

 

[noaim]

I don't think its even worth the money. Plus it damages the battery by creating more heat. Unless you absolutely need it its not worth it.

 

[BreakingKayfabe]

Does anyone know what the limit is, that the XS can take?
(would be kinda useless to get a 81W adapter, only to find out the XS has a limit of 30W

I'm pretty sure it's 30W because when you read the description for each adapter on Apple's site they stop mentioning the iPhone compatibility after the 30W charger.

 

[Almeuit]

I don't think its even worth the money. Plus it damages the battery by creating more heat. Unless you absolutely need it its not worth it.

By the time I notice anything bad with the battery I would have upgraded.