So the new iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 plus as well as the upcoming iPhone 10 all now finally support fast charging. This isn’t a new revolutionary feature obviously; Android phones have been able to do this for years but it is new to the iPhone. Apple didn’t really mention it at their keynote when they launched the new iPhones and they haven’t exactly made it a major selling point or really shown it off at all. It isn’t even listed on the box but it is listed under the tech specs on the iPhone page on Apple’s website with some fine print. And when you read the requirements for fast charging you can see why Apple hasn’t really talked much about this. The accessories that come included with the iPhone 8 do not support fast charging. The standard 5 watt power adapter and regular USB 8 a lightning cable aren’t capable of outputting enough power. And that’s pretty much the stupidest thing in the world since every single Android phone on the market for the last couple of years has come with a proper power adapter and cable needed for fast charging. Instead you’re gonna need to buy some extra accessories because well Apple; the first thing you need is a USB C lightning cable.
UPDATE: Better fast charger (Amazon Link)
Lighting to USB-C Cable 1m (Amazon Link)
Lighting to USB-C Cable 2m (Amazon Link)
29W Power Adapter (Amazon Link)
61W Power Adapter (Amazon Link)
87W Power Adapter (Amazon Link)
Apple offers a 1 meter cable for $25 and a 2 meter cable for $35 which are incredibly expensive for a cable. It has to be USB C because these cables can accommodate the 29 watt USB PD or power delivery specification that’s necessary for fast charging on the iPhone. Along with the proper USB C cable you also need a USB C compatible 29 watt or higher power adapter. Once again Apple currently offers a couple different ones to choose from. The cheapest option that most people will probably end up getting is just a small 29 watt adapter which retails for a disappointing $49. So if you’re keeping track we’re up to almost 75 bucks now. However if you currently own one of the newer Mac books that use USB C you might already have the 29 watt adapter or even the 61 watt or 87 watt adapter if you own the new MacBook Pros. Those all will work just fine for fast charging as long as they are the USB C Brix. Apple sells the 61 watt and 87 wants separately too but you don’t need to buy these over the 29 watt one. Even though the big ones can theoretically output more power, the iPhone 8 is only capable of utilizing up to 29 watts of output anyway so it would just be a waste. So if you’re lucky USB see MacBook owner you’re only out 25 bucks for the cable at this point. But for everyone else now that you spent an additional $75 after an already expensive phone; you’ve now unlocked the ability to fast charge. Apple suggests set you should be able to get about 50 percent battery charge in 30 minutes. So naturally I had to test this out for myself to see if my $75 was well-spent. And using a special cable and the 29 watt adapter my iPhone 7 plus charged 45% in about 30 minutes. I kept the screen on during the duration of the charge so I suspect with the screen off I could have probably gotten a couple more percent. But generally speaking Apple’s numbers seem to be pretty accurate, so I’ll give them some credit for that at least.
One thing worth mentioning that’s a bit disappointing, although the new iPhones also do support wireless charging now too; at this point there isn’t any sort of fast charging or even slightly faster charging support right now, 7.5 watts is the limit. Although there are some rumors suggesting that Apple maybe it will support the Qi 1.2 standard that offers 15 watt compatibility in future firmware updates. So there you go, that’s everything you need to know about the fast charging feature on the new iPhone 8, 8+ and upcoming iPhone 10. Yes, it’s great that Apple made this a possibility but even they know that having to spend $75 on more accessories just to do it is pretty ridiculous which is why they don’t really mention it.
