iPhone Charging Times by Charger

Nice work by Dan Loewenherz, charting the charging time for an iPhone 8 Plus by charger. “Fast-charging” using Apple’s $49 29-watt charger and $25 USB-C to Lightning cable is only barely faster than using a 12-watt or 10-watt iPad charger. The only charger that really stands out is the 5-watt charger included with the iPhones.

One conclusion from this is that Apple is cheaping out and should put a 10-watt iPad-style charger in the box with each iPhone. Another — suggested on Twitter by David Barnard — is that Apple ships the 5-watt charger with iPhones because it’s so much smaller, and although slower, is fast enough.

I’m on the side that this is Apple cheaping out. But thinking about it, it seems possible to me that Apple has its finger on the pulse of iPhone user complaints. They might know for a fact that “I wish my iPhone charged faster” is low on the list, perhaps because most iPhone users exclusively charge their phones overnight. Also, a lot of people carry a charger in a purse/bag. They want something tiny and might not know or care why Apple made the charger bigger.

Update: I’ve heard from a bunch of readers who either prefer the small charger themselves or who have family members who do. It’s not just about a smaller object to put in your bag — a frequent comment is that the small charger fits into many outlets where the larger ones don’t.

★ Monday, 9 October 2017