According to multiple leaks – including 3D renderings and prototype photos – Apple is planning to include powerful USB-C chargers with this year’s new iPhones to enable much quicker battery charge times.
Technically, the latest Apple devices already work with fast charging, though they don’t ship with a powerful enough charger to take advantage of it. iPhones 8, 8 Plus, and X are all capable of charging from 0% to 50% in around half an hour – but only if plugged into an adapter with significantly more power than the 5W USB-A cable that comes bundled with every purchase.
iPads come with more powerful 10W or 12W chargers, which can speed things up a little, while recent MacBooks ship with much beefier chargers equipped with USB-C technology. The problem is, you can’t plug your iPhone or iPad into this kind of port without a specific Lightning-to-USB-C cable that Apple doesn’t provide.
That’s where this rumor comes into play. It looks as though instead of the regular 5W USB-A charger that has always shipped with iPhones, this year each model will come with an 18W USB-C charger that will enable fast charging right out of the box. No need for cable confusion or extra purchases.
Due to manufacturing constraints, these 18W chargers will only be available with the new iPhones to begin with, but we’d expect them to be sold separately before long, which should please iPhone X owners looking for faster charge times.
Meanwhile, it’s worth remembering that it’s not just iPhones that can fast charge! The iPad Pro is capable of a similar feat when paired with a MacBook charger of 29W or higher – of course, you’ll still need the right cables to make it happen.