GSMArena.com GSMArena.com

Tip us

888k

156k
74k
1.1m

RSS

Log in

Login

I forgot my password
Sign up
  • Home
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Videos
  • Featured
  • Phone Finder
  • DealsNew
  • Tools
  • Coverage
  • Contact
ADVERTISEMENTS
GSMArena Team, 9 December 2020

The best chargers for your new iPhone

  • Comments (105)
  • iPhone 12 Pro
  • iPhone 12

1. Introduction
  1. 1. Introduction
  2. 2. Wired charging with OEM adapters
  3. 3. Wired charging with third-party adapters
  4. 4. Wireless charging
  5. 5. Our take and charger recommendations
  6.  
  7. Apple iPhone 12 Pro specification
  8. Apple iPhone 12 specification
  9. Review comments (105)

Apple iOS

Introduction

As if 2020 weren't bad enough already, Apple has started shipping its iPhones without chargers. There was an attempt for this change to be passed as an eco-friendly gesture, but Apple and its investors are the biggest winners from this controversial move, as anyone can easily guess. And even worse, other manufacturers may follow suit.

To make this possible, Apple slowly laid the foundation in recent years by adopting a more or less universal charging protocol for its products - USB Power Delivery. All current iPhones and MacBooks can be charged with any USB-PD charger you may have at home. And if you don't have one, Apple would gladly sell you one. But this all bodes the question - is Apple's charger better in some way than the alternatives already available in the market. USB Power Delivery is hardly new, and there are many compatible options - even if they are not meant for iPhones specifically.

So if you are getting a new iPhone this season - you are bound to ask yourself the smart question - what charger do I get for my new iPhone? Well, we're here to shed some light on that.

Charging The iPhone 12 Pro review

All iPhones until the iPhone 11 Pro used to ship with 5W adapters, while the iPhone 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max were the only models to come with an 18W 'Pro' charger. The latter has been discontinued in favor of an upgraded 20W version. And as far as Apple is concerned, you should buy either the 5W or the 20W adapter.

Well, some of you might have forgotten, but the iPad's original 10W and 12W chargers also fast charge the iPhones - all iPhones. And compared to the 5W slouch, the 10W and the 12W adapters can do a pretty decent job.

All iPhones since the iPhone 8 also support Qi wireless charging. And all except the iPhone 12 generation are limited to the slow 7.5W charging. With the newly introduced MagSafe wireless charger, the iPhone 12 can now go as high as 15W.

Charging The iPhone 12 Pro review

Finally, it's good to know that all iPhones since the iPhone 8 support USB-PD charging and all USB-PD adapters work just fine with the iPhones. We have taken this last wholeheartedly, and that's why we did this mad charging streak with the chargers we've got in our office. And we've found out some peculiarities, which we hope will help you choose the best charger for you.

And before we go deep into some charging numbers, here are the official charging specs for the iPhone 12 series according to Apple:

  • Fast-charge: Up to 50% charge in 30 minutes with 20W adapter or higher
  • MagSafe wireless charging up to 15W
  • Qi wireless charging up to 7.5W

And here is the list with all chargers we've used for this test:

  • Apple 5W charger (iPhone)
  • Apple 10W charger (iPad)
  • Apple 12W charger (iPad)
  • Apple 18W charger (iPhone)
  • Apple 20W charger (iPhone)
  • Apple 29W charger (MacBook)
  • Google 18W USB-PD charger (Pixel 3)
  • Samsung 25W charger (Galaxy Note20 Ultra)
  • Xiaomi 10W charger (Redmi 9)
  • Xiaomi 22.5W charger (Redmi Note 9S)
  • Huawei 18W charger (P30 Lite)
  • IKEA KOPPLA 12W charger
  • Aukey 12W car charger
  • Apple MagSafe wireless charger
  • Samsung Wireless Charging Stand (2018)
  • Samsung Wireless Charging Stand (2019)
  • Xiaomi Powerbank 20,000 mAh 18W, 2x USB-A, microUSB

Finally, we've used these two cables for our charging tests:

  • Apple USB-C to Lightning cable from iPhone 12 Pro
  • Apple USB-A to Lightning cable from iPhone X

And now let's look at some numbers, shall we?

Next Page » 2. Wired charging with OEM adapters
1. Introduction
  1. 1. Introduction
  2. 2. Wired charging with OEM adapters
  3. 3. Wired charging with third-party adapters
  4. 4. Wireless charging
  5. 5. Our take and charger recommendations
  6.  
  7. Apple iPhone 12 Pro specification
  8. Apple iPhone 12 specification
  9. Review comments (105)

Reviews The best chargers for your new iPhone
  • Comments (105)
  • iPhone 12 Pro
  • iPhone 12

The best chargers for your new iPhone - Reader comments

N
  • Nick.B
  • 60$
  • 06 Jan 2021

I really want to buy samsung again. And get back faith in them. They might surprise me well with S21 lineup. Let's see. They def in zero land now. Not up land. So they must make bigger innovations to resume going up and not staying at zero level...

  • Reply
R
  • Redbull
  • XBH
  • 06 Jan 2021

Make your own phone dude!

  • Reply
D
  • Dan
  • 2Wn
  • 25 Dec 2020

The best charger is the one that comes in the box. Oh wait...

  • Reply
  • Read all comments
  • Post your comment
Total reader comments: 105

Phone finder

  • Samsung
  • Apple
  • Huawei
  • Nokia
  • Sony
  • LG
  • HTC
  • Motorola
  • Lenovo
  • Xiaomi
  • Google
  • Honor
  • Oppo
  • Realme
  • OnePlus
  • vivo
  • Meizu
  • BlackBerry
  • Asus
  • Alcatel
  • ZTE
  • Microsoft
  • Vodafone
  • Energizer
  • Cat
  • Sharp
  • Micromax
  • Infinix
  • Ulefone
  • Tecno
  • BLU
  • Acer
  • Wiko
  • Panasonic
  • verykool
  • Plum

All brands Rumor mill

ADVERTISEMENTS

Related articles

  • Kuo: 2021 MacBook Pros will scrap Touch Bar, bring new design and MagSafe connector
  • TWS segment sees significant growth in 2020, more to come in 2021
  • Microsoft updates Word and Excel on the iPad with much-needed PC features
  • Report: Global smartphone shipments in 2020 were down 8.8% compared to 2019
ADVERTISEMENTS

Popular reviews

Apple iOS 14 review

Apple iOS 14 review
Android 11 review

Android 11 review
Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra review

Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra review
ADVERTISEMENTS

Home News Reviews Compare Coverage Glossary FAQ RSS feed Youtube Facebook Twitter Instagram

© 2000-2021 GSMArena.com Mobile version Android app Contact us Privacy Terms of use Change Ad Consent Do not sell my data