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"12 watt" vs "5 watt" charger on iPhone 6 Plus

my MBP is giving 2.1a to my iPhone 6 and my kill a watt was showing 9W when the battery was at 40%

so it DOES charge the iPhone 6 faster, just not 2x as fast like the 6+

at least that is the behavior mine exhibits.
 
I've been charging my 5s with 12 watt chargers since I got it. Truthfully, most of the chargers in my home and even the one in my car are 12 watt chargers so that I can charge my iPad (4th generation).
 
jase1125 said:
I timed it so like i said, mine must have been special :)
Click to expand...

There are a lot of variables that can affect how long the phone takes to charge, so the only reliable way to test it is to actually measure the current the device is taking. If the phone was a bit busier in the background during one of your tests, or the screen was on for a little bit longer, or if you used even slightly different starting or ending points all of those things would have an effect on how long it took to charge.
 
2IS said:
Not sure if this has been done yet, but I decided to dig up the Kill-A-Watt and take some measurements. Both chargers had a readout of 0.0 watts when plugged in with nothing but the cable attached to them. Both photos taken with an iPhone 6 Plus while being charged. See attached images.
Click to expand...

...or that 3rd-party charger could be very inefficient and wasting a lot of power?
 
I used to plug my 4S into the charger every night for 3 years.

So far with the 6 I plug it into my 2A car charger on my 45 minute drive to and from work, listening to iHeart and have had no need to charge it overnight.
 
JCrz said:
...or that 3rd-party charger could be very inefficient and wasting a lot of power?
Click to expand...

Nope. Why was it only inefficient when charging the 6 Plus then? And MORE efficient than Apple charger (using .2 watts less) when charging my iPhone 5?
 
zhenya said:
There are a lot of variables that can affect how long the phone takes to charge, so the only reliable way to test it is to actually measure the current the device is taking. If the phone was a bit busier in the background during one of your tests, or the screen was on for a little bit longer, or if you used even slightly different starting or ending points all of those things would have an effect on how long it took to charge.
Click to expand...

Or it could just be faster...which was for me and always has been. Not placebo, but faster. It is okay if you don't believe me. I proved it to myself. :)
 
how do i get a 12 watt charger? i have a bunch of the pieces that connect to the wall and have a usb port on it, including a brand new one that shipped in my 6+ box, but they all say 5W.

my biggest complaint with my phone so far has been the dreadfully slow charging of it. this could help it significantly.
 
jase1125 said:
Or it could just be faster...which was for me and always has been. Not placebo, but faster. It is okay if you don't believe me. I proved it to myself. :)
Click to expand...

LOL ok. You've been given the answer with all sorts of sound proof (including why you are having the very experiences you do) but if you want to believe in magic, ok. :rolleyes:
 
sakau2007 said:
how do i get a 12 watt charger? i have a bunch of the pieces that connect to the wall and have a usb port on it, including a brand new one that shipped in my 6+ box, but they all say 5W.

my biggest complaint with my phone so far has been the dreadfully slow charging of it. this could help it significantly.
Click to expand...

You can use an iPad (full size) charger (older ones are 10w, newer are 12) or you can simply buy a 3rd party charger like the one I used in this thread. They're not at all hard to find. Most any place that sells phones or tablets will have them. You can even order a genuine 12w Apple charger, I think a link to one was provided earlier in this thread.
 
sakau2007 said:
how do i get a 12 watt charger? i have a bunch of the pieces that connect to the wall and have a usb port on it, including a brand new one that shipped in my 6+ box, but they all say 5W.

my biggest complaint with my phone so far has been the dreadfully slow charging of it. this could help it significantly.
Click to expand...

It's just an iPad charger.

Any aftermarket charger rated at 2.1a or above will do it too.
 
2IS said:
You can use an iPad (full size) charger (older ones are 10w, newer are 12) or you can simply buy a 3rd party charger like the one I used in this thread. They're not at all hard to find. Most any place that sells phones or tablets will have them. You can even order a genuine 12w Apple charger, I think a link to one was provided earlier in this thread.
Click to expand...

do nongenuine 12W chargers work? I've bought a few 5W chargers and cables that were way cheaper than apple's prices but they worked when they felt like it.
 
sakau2007 said:
do nongenuine 12W chargers work? I've bought a few 5W chargers and cables that were way cheaper than apple's prices but they worked when they felt like it.
Click to expand...

Depends on the quality. There are aftermarket ones that are perfectly good. I don't think there are too many that are as compact as the Apple ones however while also being quality.
 
sakau2007 said:
do nongenuine 12W chargers work? I've bought a few 5W chargers and cables that were way cheaper than apple's prices but they worked when they felt like it.
Click to expand...

I haven't had a problem with mine. It's always worked when I plug something in, lives up to its rated capacity and doesn't get any warmer then my iPad charger.

You can always buy a genuine Apple charger on it's own if you don't want to chance it though.
 
Both the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus charge at around 1.3A off an iPad charger. They can use up to 1.5A if the device is on and active.

Tested with a Charger Doctor, which measure the actual USB voltage and current, not through the wall adapter.
 
2IS said:
Nope. Why was it only inefficient when charging the 6 Plus then? And MORE efficient than Apple charger (using .2 watts less) when charging my iPhone 5?
Click to expand...

It's useless measuring the current BEFORE it enters the charger or adapter. You have too many variables. Everyone should understand the scientific process—isolate your variable!!!
 
rkuo said:
Both the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus charge at around 1.3A off an iPad charger. They can use up to 1.5A if the device is on and active.

Tested with a Charger Doctor, which measure the actual USB voltage and current, not through the wall adapter.
Click to expand...

That's disappointing as it had been mentioned that they both support 2A charging.
 
JCrz said:
It's useless measuring the current BEFORE it enters the charger or adapter. You have too many variables. Everyone should understand the scientific process—isolate your variable!!!
Click to expand...

It's not useless at all, you just don't know how to interpret simple data. IPhone 5 pulled 6.4 watts from the wall with the 12 watt charger and 6.6 watts from the wall from the 5 watt iPhone charger. If the iPhone 6 Plus was only able to pull as many watts as an iPhone 5, we'd pull the same numbers. Instead, we have the Plus pulling nearly twice that amount. It's not magic, it's charging faster. I'm not sure what about this is so baffling to you. If you disagree, then explain... What variables could be causing this extra current draw if it's not the iPhone 6 Plus itself? Your efficiency theory is bust since with a 5 watt load, the 3rd party charger I was using was actually more efficient than the charger the IPhone comes with. What else have you got?

If you're gonna call shens, you should have something to back it up.
 
Last edited:
JCrz said:
It's useless measuring the current BEFORE it enters the charger or adapter. You have too many variables. Everyone should understand the scientific process—isolate your variable!!!
Click to expand...

But the variables are constant in this case. The only thing that changes is the phone being charged. So while you might not be able to make any conclusions about absolute power draw, it's a valid comparison on a relative basis.
 
2IS said:
It's not useless at all, you just don't know how to interpret simple data. IPhone 5 pulled 6.4 watts from the wall with the 12 watt charger and 6.6 watts from the wall from the 5 watt iPhone charger. If the iPhone 6 Plus was only able to pull as many watts as an iPhone 5, we'd pull the same numbers. Instead, we have the Plus pulling nearly twice that amount. It's not magic, it's charging faster. I'm not sure what about this is so baffling to you. If you disagree, then explain... What variables could be causing this extra current draw if it's not the iPhone 6 Plus itself? Your efficiency theory is bust since with a 5 watt load, the 3rd party charger I was using was actually more efficient than the charger the IPhone comes with. What else have you got?

If you're gonna call shens, you should have something to back it up.
Click to expand...

That's like saying an air conditioner that uses twice as much electricity is actually putting out twice as much cold air (or extracting twice as much heat). You're measuring at the wrong place and making assumptions for the rest. Test busted.
 
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