iPhone 13 & Faster Charging: 20W, 25W or more?
Current Android phones provide significantly faster charging speeds than any of the super expensive iPhones either through wired or wireless charging. In fact many Android OEMs provide wireless charging options with faster charging than Apple’s wired solutions.
Apple’s 2020 iPhone lineup supports 20W charging speeds which was a step up from the 2019 iPhone 11 lineup that offered charging speeds up to 18W. Apple follows the USB Power Delivery fast charging specification which is also adopted by Android OEMs. Android phones also adopt the widely popular Qualcomm Quick Charge, which is now in its fifth generation and supports charging speeds up to 100 watts.
Apple sticks to lower charging speeds which is something that drives a portion of hardcore Apple fans crazy, since they would appreciate plugging in their phones for a few minutes and get some additional hours of battery life. Actually, who wouldn’t, considering that the iPhone’s battery life is considered to be either poor or average (with the exception of the larger iPhone’s)?
So what should we expect for 2021 and the upcoming iPhone lineup?
Does fast charging affect battery health?
Prior to diving into what’s coming up later this year, let’s put something else on the table; battery health. Battery health is another aspect of your iPhone’s battery, related to how long does your iPhone’s battery maintains its specified performance compared with a brand new iPhone battery. Apple is providing software updates to iPhones that are 6 years old which proves that current iPhone owners do not upgrade as often as they used to be. Providing a battery that works well for several years is obviously important.
Contemporary fast charging technologies do not affect your phone’s battery health. Hence, Apple is not refraining from offering faster charging options because of battery life concerns. Battery charging happens in two phases. In the first phase, a higher voltage increases the charging rate. Fast chargers take advantage of this initial phase to increase power flow. Once the battery has received most of its charge, the charger will decrease voltage to preventing overheating or overcharging, ensuring your smartphone and charger are both safe.
What should we expect this year?
A new rumour published by mydrivers.com claims that the iPhone 13 lineup could support faster charging speeds than the iPhone 12 series. The increase is rumoured to reach 25%, meaning that the maximum charging speed would go from 20W to 25W in the iPhone 13. Apple will release a 25W fast charger that will be slightly more expensive that the current 20W charger which is priced at $19.99.
This information is coming from Apple’s supply chain, but we need to be cautious of those rumours since they do not originate from a source with a proven track record.
Considering the big complaints about the battery life of the iPhone 12/12 Pro/12 Mini Apple’s planning to increase the capacity of the iPhone 13 lineup which in combination with better charging speeds could fade out those imperfections. Moreover, Apple will be able to catch-up on its Android rivals.
What do you think? Does Apple need to provide faster charging speeds?
