It's not like saying that at all. iPhone 5 is drawing the same power from both units. If iPhone 6 Plus was only able to pull the same amount of current as the 5, it's figures would be identical to the iPhone 5. The only thing busted here is your understanding of the topic, in addition to your efficiency theory. Your arguments are baseless.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
"12 watt" vs "5 watt" charger on iPhone 6 Plus
- Thread starter 2IS
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
It's not like saying that at all. iPhone 5 is drawing the same power from both units. If iPhone 6 Plus was only able to pull the same amount of current as the 5, it's figures would be identical to the iPhone 5. The only thing busted here is your understanding of the topic, in addition to your efficiency theory. Your arguments are baseless.
It's not a useless test, it just doesn't measure the exact number you want. Observing the delta between a regular iPhone 5S and a 6 series tells us one thing, and general assumptions about the efficiency of the adapter can allow one to make reasonable assumptions about the output.
Regardless, as I mentioned in an earlier post, I ran my own tests on the USB output, so there's your data.
Nope. And I'll repeat myself for the third timejust because twice the power goes into a converter doesn't mean twice the power is going out. Obviously you don't understand electronics. There are many variables that lead to power loss along the way (ever touch an AC adapter? yeah, it can get hot...where do you think that heat magically comes from?) I'm amazed you don't understand simple electronics and physics but until you do so you'll never understand that a Kill-a-Watt doesn't prove actual current going INTO THE DEVICE...!
If the 12W isn't going into the phone then your AC adapter will be getting really hot. If your phone is only pulling 5W then the adapter will only pull 5W plus maybe a tiny bit more do to efficiency loss.
I would highly doubt if an AC adapter is pulling 12W that only 6W is going into the phone. That's a lot of energy being converted into heat by the adapter! You'd get a nasty burn trying to touch it.
To the guy saying 12W can be going into a converter but only 6W out, the rest would HAVE to be converted into heat (assuming there's nothing else the adapter is powering). That's the only possible way it's happening, and it's highly unlikely something is that ineffecient, see my 2nd paragraph. Otherwise we're discrediting Newton.
I would highly doubt if an AC adapter is pulling 12W that only 6W is going into the phone. That's a lot of energy being converted into heat by the adapter! You'd get a nasty burn trying to touch it.
To the guy saying 12W can be going into a converter but only 6W out, the rest would HAVE to be converted into heat (assuming there's nothing else the adapter is powering). That's the only possible way it's happening, and it's highly unlikely something is that ineffecient, see my 2nd paragraph. Otherwise we're discrediting Newton.
It might not be twice the power going into the device, but we do know it's more since the charger is staying constant between tests. And it's a pretty safe assumption that the iPhone 6 charging circuitry isn't wildly more inefficient than the iPhone 5/5S circuitry.
Repeating misinformation is still misinformation. No one claimed there the power consumed by ththe charger is equal to the power going into phone. Like I said. Your understanding is lacking. You just proved your inability to process data as well as a lack of comprehension of what people are saying. Nothing more. I'm not the only one here telling you you're wrong
So, if I put the iPhone 6 cable into a 10 watt Asus Nexus 7 charger, will that charge my iPhone faster?
Read this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_method. Learn it before you make up more "information".
----------
You could place a resistor across the charging pins and cause the adapter to dump current in the form of heat. Your net result is practically zero. A Kill-A-Watt would report that more current is being drawn from the wall but in reality it's doing nothing.
I'm not saying that the 6 isn't able to accept more current. I'm saying that testing by reading the current from the wall is not the proper way anyone should be testing and reporting conclusions.
Just because a car uses twice as much gas doesn't mean it's twice as fast. No one measures horsepower (or even relative horsepower) by MPG. That's just silly.
It's the cable, not the charger.
I posted this over at LifeHacker but figured I'd post it here as well:
I've been testing this for several days now with an ammeter and I have yet to get my iPhone 6 to draw more than 1A off a 2.1A charger (I've even tried 2.4A, but there was no noticeable difference). I don't think that what's happening here is that the iPhone can suddenly draw more than 1A. Instead, I think the 1A charger proves to be inefficient when using 28AWG wires.
To test this hypothesis, I got my 6 down to just below 20% and then put it on a 2.1A charger for 2-3m. Once the screen shut off, the draw dropped to a steady 1A (± 0.05A). I then switched to a 1A charger. The draw was 0.9A (± 0.03A). Just to be sure this wasn't a function of the Apple Lightning cable's length, I used a short, 4" lightning cable from Amazon and got effectively the same results.
In sum, what's happening appears to be that the 1A just can't charge at full efficiency because of, well, physics. When you attach a stronger power source, the loss in current is effectively eliminated. In other words, with a 2.1A charger, your iPhone should charge about 10% faster. (This also means there's no damage to the battery since the iPhone charging circuit appears to be limiting the input to 1A.)
EDIT: I tried several other Lightning cables from different manufacturers. Aside from a few that were more inefficient than I expected, nothing ever gave a reading of more than 1A.
EDIT 2: it's worth noting that if you're charging while using the iPhone, a 2.1A power source will charge dramatically faster since it can provide more than 1A to power the screen, etc. I saw draws as high as 1.5A when I activated the screen (in lock mode).
I posted this over at LifeHacker but figured I'd post it here as well:
I've been testing this for several days now with an ammeter and I have yet to get my iPhone 6 to draw more than 1A off a 2.1A charger (I've even tried 2.4A, but there was no noticeable difference). I don't think that what's happening here is that the iPhone can suddenly draw more than 1A. Instead, I think the 1A charger proves to be inefficient when using 28AWG wires.
To test this hypothesis, I got my 6 down to just below 20% and then put it on a 2.1A charger for 2-3m. Once the screen shut off, the draw dropped to a steady 1A (± 0.05A). I then switched to a 1A charger. The draw was 0.9A (± 0.03A). Just to be sure this wasn't a function of the Apple Lightning cable's length, I used a short, 4" lightning cable from Amazon and got effectively the same results.
In sum, what's happening appears to be that the 1A just can't charge at full efficiency because of, well, physics. When you attach a stronger power source, the loss in current is effectively eliminated. In other words, with a 2.1A charger, your iPhone should charge about 10% faster. (This also means there's no damage to the battery since the iPhone charging circuit appears to be limiting the input to 1A.)
EDIT: I tried several other Lightning cables from different manufacturers. Aside from a few that were more inefficient than I expected, nothing ever gave a reading of more than 1A.
EDIT 2: it's worth noting that if you're charging while using the iPhone, a 2.1A power source will charge dramatically faster since it can provide more than 1A to power the screen, etc. I saw draws as high as 1.5A when I activated the screen (in lock mode).
Last edited:
So you're saying the OP put a resistor between the charging pins? I kinda doubt that. In this case the battery is the resistor.
It's not like these results are being published in a journal. It's just an informal comparison between the two devices. Yes we have to make a couple assumptions, but they are safe assumptions. It's extremely unlikely that this charger just happens to waste 6 extra watts when plugged into an iPhone 6 and nothing else. Maybe the device is charging with 10W and 2W is being lost in the conversion from AC to DC and such.
Taking the information the OP provided, and other information such as OSX delivering 2100 mAh to the new phones, it should be pretty easy to accept that these new devices can charge with 10+ watts.
I never said he put a resistor between the charging pins. Quit making things up (that's stooping even lower than before). The simple fact that you have trouble understanding simple logic shows that you're incapable of any form of human discussion.
BTW, OS X doesn't report 2100 mA is consumed. It says that's what requested. A device doesn't necessarily have to use that much. Reading a number on a screen is NOT the same as doing a measurement. Tossing that "evidence' out the window now.
And "maH" is a capacity, not a current. EE 101.
So what this essentially comes down to is you think the charger has a mind of it's own and simply feels like wasting 6 watts of energy when an iPhone 6 is plugged into it. And magically manages to waste this 6 watts of power and not burn my hand or melt the casing down. Common Sense 101.
Last edited:
This might be one of my favorite features of the new iPhone. Forgot to plug mine in last night. Plugged it in with 65% battery this morning. Hopped in the shower, got ready, etc., and my phone was at 100% before walking out the door. Cool. 
So what you're saying is, the conservation of energy theory doesn't apply to the iPhone 6 Plus... Smart... And you wonder why not a single person here has agreed with your assessment.
Then why does the iPhone 5S say 500 + 500 mA in OS X while the iPhone 6 says 500 + 1600?
You quoted me and then you asked me what I wrote? Seriously?
Just because a device is reported as requesting that much current doesn't meant it's actually supplied or that the battery is being charged at that rate. There is no proof there. Why is that so hard to understand?
So if the iPhone 6 charges at the same rate as the 5S why would it request more power? Why wouldn't it just request 1A like the 5S? Why would Apple give it to the ability to request 2.1A? huh?!?!
Like you said yourself requesting isn't the same thing as drawing BUT if it's requesting 2.1A then clearly it's able to charge up to 2.1A when need be.
LOL...you are trying to use science here when all you have to back up your claim is a Kill-A-Watt reading taken at the wrong place?
So everyone who agrees has to say they agree? Another obvious display of your flawed logic in every way possible.
Listen, I can't help you. If you've gone this far without understanding the difference between testing and assuming then I'm pretty certain no one can help you.
Sorry, I'm going to block you now because you're just a complete waste of time. I hope your new phone brings you peace and happiness.
----------
In theory, yes. And probably that's the case that it can use that current. But until it's actually proven (documented and in a controlled environment), we don't know for sure. I just think people are too quick to jump to conclusions (and that's why we have things like "Bendgate", etc.).
I have a kill-a-watt, the chargers, the phones, the data, similar reports from people who have looked at power draw on their macs and last but not least, I know how to apply the conservation of the energy theory to the data, which apparently you think doesn't apply to an iPhone 6 Plus.
What do you have?
What you are lacking here is the common sense that everyone else is applying to these observations. A 5s plugged into either charger shows no more than a 6w draw. A 6 draws the same amount on the 1a charger screen on or off. Off the 2.1/2.4a chargers it draws 6w screen off/8-10w screen on. What is the most likely thing that is happening there? The charger is suddenly wasting that extra power only with that one device and only when the screen is on? No. The most likely scenario is that the device uses more power with the screen on and the new models have been smartly updated so they can charge at full rate even when in use IF the extra power is available. With the 6+ having a 60% larger battery and drawing 10w screen off, again, what's the most likely scenario? That it is able to charge faster when available. Sure, I'd like to see these hypothesis tested further, but at this point it seems pretty logical. A heck of a lot more than your counterpoint that these chargers are suddenly behaving erratically but only when plugged into a 6 or 6+!!