Apple didn’t mention it in their recent iPhone event at the Steve Jobs Theater, but all three of their new iPhones — the iPhone X, iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus — come with fast charging.
This technology has been around on Android phones since 2013, so it’s great to see Apple users finally get the ability to charge their phones quickly.
Here’s what you need to know about fast charging on the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X.
How fast is Apple’s fast charging?
Apple say 0% to 50% in just thirty minutes — not bad!
This was with pre-release versions of the iPhone, according to a note on the new iPhone product pages, but it should be true to life in the shipping retail versions as well.
Apple’s fast charging is based on USB Power Delivery, a USB-C charging specification. This is the same standard that the Google Pixel uses, for example, but differs from that used by Samsung, Sony, OnePlus and most other Android brands.
Can I fast charge out of the box?
No, you can’t fast charge out of the box. Unfortunately, the 5W charger that comes with the iPhone 8, 8 Plus and X is the same one that came with the iPhone 7, so it isn’t any faster.
What do I need to fast charge?
You’ll need to get both a USB-C mains adapter and a USB-C to Lightning cable. For best results, your USB-C mains adapter should support the USB Power Delivery (USB-PD) standard.
Expensive official accessories
Apple sell their official mains adapter in a couple of different varities — 29W for £49, 61W for £69 or 87W for £79.
The USB-C to Lightning cable costs £24 for a 1m cable or £32 for the 2m version.
Cheaper third-party accessories
Happily, you don’t need to buy Apple’s overpriced accessories to get fast charging on your iPhone 8, 8 Plus or X. Simply pair a Lightning to USB-C cable with a USB-C mains charger, which can cost as little as £20.
However, the best charging experience should come from larger adapters that support USB-C Power Delivery, such as this 5-port Macally wall charger.
We’ll begin investigating exact charging speeds once the iPhone 8 and iPhone X are available, but any modern USB-C mains charger should be noticeably faster than the 5W adapter that comes with the new iPhones!
Wrapping up
Thanks for checking out the article. We’ll continue to keep this up-to-date as we get more information on fast charging for the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X, so stay tuned! Thanks again and enjoy the rest of your day.
Your iPad charger might be faster — try it and see. However, maximum speed should only be possible with a USB-C charger that supports USB Power Delivery (USB PD).
Can the old iPad 1st generation charger be used along with a lightning cable for fast charging my new iPhone 8?