It’s high time for Apple to increase the charging power.
There are many reasons to love Apple smartphones, but their charging speed is not one of them. However, there is finally some good news: the high-end models debuting this year will support higher charging power than before.
If the rumors are true, the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max, set to be unveiled in September, will support wired charging at up to 40W and wireless MagSafe charging at up to 20W. Currently, the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max can charge at 27W wired and 15W wirelessly.
It’s still unclear how much the charging time will be reduced with the increased power and whether the cheaper iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus will also benefit from faster charging.
Currently, a full charge for an iPhone 15 Pro Max takes about two hours, whereas the Samsung Galaxy S24, a major competitor, can be fully charged in around an hour with an optional 45W charger.
Samsung’s recently unveiled flagship, the foldable Galaxy Z Fold6, still charges at a maximum of 25W, despite its high price of 830-980 thousand HUF. The smaller, fashion-focused Galaxy Z Flip6, priced at 500-550 thousand HUF, also only supports up to 25W charging.
Apple should ideally provide at least double the current charging power, around 50-60W, as many mid-range Android phones, which are significantly cheaper, offer charging speeds of up to 120W with their standard chargers. These can be fully charged in as little as 15-20 minutes, compared to the 1.5-2 hours for iPhones.
At least the positive news is that the iPhone 15 series can be charged with any USB-C charger/cable, as Apple has finally retired the old Lightning connector after 11 years, thanks to new European Union regulations.
Wireless charging has also seen little improvement in recent years, with MagSafe still capped at 15W and Qi charging at just 7.5W. The iPhone 15 series supports the Qi2 standard, but such chargers, capable of up to 15W, are still rare. In contrast, top-tier Android devices support 50-60W wireless charging, and some even offer 100W wireless charging, allowing a full charge in around 20 minutes.
Recent rumors suggest that the iPhone 15 Pro’s 3274 mAh battery will be replaced by a 3355 mAh battery in the iPhone 16 Pro, a 2.5% increase. The iPhone 15 Pro Max’s 4441 mAh battery will be upgraded to a 4676 mAh battery in the iPhone 16 Pro Max, a more than 5% improvement.
The iPhone 16 Pro is expected to feature a 6.3-inch display with thinner bezels, up from the iPhone 15 Pro’s 6.1-inch screen. The iPhone 16 Pro Max will increase from 6.7 inches to 6.9 inches. These new models will include a Micro Lens Array (MLA) OLED panel, promising higher brightness and wider viewing angles, though its impact on power consumption is yet to be seen.
Official battery life estimates from Apple remained unchanged for the iPhone 15 series. The iPhone 15 offers 20 hours of video playback and 80 hours of audio playback. The iPhone 15 Plus can handle 26 hours of video and 100 hours of audio. The A17 Pro chipset-equipped iPhone 15 Pro provides 23 hours of video and 75 hours of audio, while the iPhone 15 Pro Max offers 29 hours of video and 95 hours of audio playback.
