iPhone 6 and 6 Plus Capable of Faster Charging Using iPad 2.1A Adapter

[H2SO4]

Its clear no one here understands Li-Ion battery chemistry. I've been following this stuff for a while now for EVs (I drive a Volt).

A Li-Ion battery's usable life is determined by three variables - calendar life, cycle life, and charging rate (measured in "C" which is the ratio between charging rate and battery capacity in mAh - so "1C" is discharging or recharging the battery in 1 hour, 0.5 is two hours, and 2C is 30 minutes).

Recent research from Stanford Univ. has shown the effects of "slow charging" to be overstated, and the effects of fast-charging less harmful than originally thought.

Recharging an iPhone 5S at 1A is about .63C (1000mA / 1570mAh). Recharging an iPhone 6 Plus at 2.1A is .71C (2100mA / 2950mA). The difference there is not enough to dramatically effect the lifespan of the battery cell. The 6 has a higher charge rate of 1.16C, but I don't beleive that its very harmful to the battery and the higher charge rate will not shorten the overall lifespan of the battery. For reference, recharging an iPad Air at 2.1A is .24C ( 2100mA / 8820mAh).

Its not until you go over 2C that you start to see substantial impacts. Even Tesla owners who fast-charge frequently still have 99% original battery capacity after more than 100 cycles.

At last, someone that understands it!
People here need to understand that Apples engineers may understand the device but they do not understand the battery anywhere near as well. Some people right on here will very likely understand it better than the holy iEngineers.
The battery manufacturer understands the battery and they, not AAPL set the max charge/discharge cycles/current.

So;
The battery does not care what it is connected to, all it is interested in is the charge/discharge profile.
A device does not care what charger it’s connected to assuming the voltage is correct. It could be a 3KW charger but the battery/charging circuitry will only draw the current it is designed to draw.

 

[5H3PH3RD]

No, the device only draws what it needs unless the device itself is flawed. If you give it a charger capable of producing massive current, the device is still only going to use whatever its safe maximum is.

----------



I don't think this is really true unless you count the damage the battery will take from running out of charge frequently. With a low-amperage charger, the iPad can lose charge while it's plugged in and in use.

So explain to me, why on all my iPhones 4S and below they are noticeably warmer/ verging on very warm when using a higher amp charger than when using the charger they are shipped with. Your telling me all 4 devices are faulty?

 

[ISanych]

Ya, I'd be concerned about the ramifications on the battery and long term performance. If this was the case, why wouldn't Apple just have included the more powerful charger?

The same reason they included 1Gb RAM and not discontinued 16Gb model.

 

[ptb42]

Its hardly anecdotal when I am on my 3rd battery in 3 years.

You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.

 

[macduke]

I definitely noticed this using my Anker charger (link). It dynamically adapts the power output according to how much it can take. My charge rate shot up so quickly on my Plus after I ran it all the way down (on purpose to calibrate) that I could sit there and watch the percentage tick upwards for a little while. My bedroom charger doesn't go nearly as fast. After a day of heavy use on my Plus, I was down to about 30%. I got to bed pretty late (1:30) and when I woke up at 6:45 it was at only 93%. I charged it up the rest of the way while I got ready for work. So far today after nearly an hour of usage, it's at 97% and it's 1pm! Crazy.

 

[DotCom2]

I don't think this is even a debate.
Right on the Apple website it says the larger 12 Watt adapter is compatible with ALL iPhones including the new 6 and Plus.
They won't state that if it were harmful. DUH!

 

[mdelvecchio]

Actually, it is fine to do this. Apple officially supports using the 12W adapter for iPod 4th gen. and newer, and all iPhone and iPad models. On the flip side, charging your iPad with a charger that supplies less current that what it needs will damage your device.

I swear the contempt of MR readers sure has skyrocketed recently. I mean, are these people for real?

this is confirmed w/ what an Apple Genius told me in-store -- using a larger apple charging do-dad is good, but less is not. eg, i asked about using the ipad Air power converter on the ipad Mini, and she said that was fine.

 

[AlecZ]

So explain to me, why on all my iPhones 4S and below they are noticeably warmer/ verging on very warm when using a higher amp charger than when using the charger they are shipped with. Your telling me all 4 devices are faulty?

It's not necessarily unhealthy for it to get warm, and it will of course get warmer if more current is running through it. If it's bad for it to get warm, then Apple has made a mistake, but I doubt it. They also heat up when processing something like FaceTime. The iPhone ceases to operate and gives a warning if the temperature gets too high, so Apple has set a limit that they think is safe.

When I lived in L.A., my iPhone was always hot, as was everything everywhere every season :/ Okay, L.A. rant over.

 

[Viper2005]

Is it possible to overcharge an iPhone battery? Or is the phone smart enough to stop the flow of current once it's fully charged?

 

[5H3PH3RD]

It's not necessarily unhealthy for it to get warm, and it will of course get warmer if more current is running through it. If it's bad for it to get warm, then Apple has made a mistake, but I doubt it. They also heat up when processing something like FaceTime. When I lived in L.A., my iPhone was always hot, as was everything everywhere :/

Quoted for the second time:

Actually, as we discussed above, the reality is quite the contrary. Finally, the battery should have a temperature between 20-45 degrees C whilst charging. Below this the lithium coats the electrodes, and above it the pressure becomes too high.

In both these cases the temperature can potentially render the battery unstable. Generally, if the charging temperature goes past 45 degrees C, a circuit cuts the charge, leaving you to think that the battery is full while it isn’t. The estimated optimal temperature is 20 degrees C; as we will see later on, temperature is an important element in the life of a battery. Therefore one must be particularly attentive to this detail.

My phones are all noticeably warmer on a higher amp charger in the same room conditions.

 

[DaveTheRave]

According to preliminary tests using a Kill-A-Watt device and OS X system information, the charging profile for the iPhone 6 and the 6 Plus match that of the iPad, allowing them to charge using 2.1A.

2.1A or 2.4? I thought Apple changed the iPad chargers 1 or 2 years ago?

 

[zorinlynx]

My recommendation is to use a 1A charger by your bed, to charge slower overnight. Save the 2A charging for when you need to charge fast; for example your phone is at 10% and you have to leave in 15 minutes.

Slower charging is easier on batteries; if you have all night to charge you might as well charge slowly.

 

[AlecZ]

Quoted for the second time:



My phones are all noticeably warmer on a higher amp charger in the same room conditions.

Well, it's all about whose research you trust. If you think your phone's temperature is going above 45˚C (113˚F) while charging and don't trust the maximum Apple has set, you can use a less powerful charger, but Apple has intentionally allowed the iPhone to charge from iPad chargers and Mac USB ports at the amperage it does, and they do not give any warning about doing this. It's their fault if this degrades the battery life.

While I usually do not doubt Apple's recommendations, I have chosen to ignore some in the past. For example, I like to prevent my Mac Pro's HDDs from sleeping because I think that power cycles reduce their reliability.

 

[Sonmi451]

Everyone is partially right. The iPhone 6 is perfectly safe to use higher amperage chargers, however it may affect battery life although I belive it will be negligible. Heat is what kills your battery faster which can be a product of higher capacity charging. Overall I wouldn't worry.

 

[Daniel L]

The same reason they included 1Gb RAM and not discontinued 16Gb model.

That's what I'm thinking too... $$$$

 

[AppleInLVX]

Slightly off topic, but it seems to me that most stories both here and on the internet seems to work as though the iPhone 6 Plus is the only device. Why not also include metrics for the phone that is "easily outpacing" the 6 Plus? Why not tell us how long to charge the 6 in the same circumstance?

/pet peeve

 

[slicecom]

My recommendation is to use a 1A charger by your bed, to charge slower overnight. Save the 2A charging for when you need to charge fast; for example your phone is at 10% and you have to leave in 15 minutes.

Slower charging is easier on batteries; if you have all night to charge you might as well charge slowly.

This is my exact strategy.

 

[5H3PH3RD]

Well, it's all about whose research you trust. If you think your phone's temperature is going above 45˚C (113˚F) while charging and don't trust the maximum Apple has set, you can use a less powerful charger, but Apple has intentionally allowed the iPhone to charge from iPad chargers and Mac USB ports at the amperage it does, and they do not give any warning about doing this. It's their fault if this degrades the battery life.

While I usually do not doubt Apple's recommendations, I have chosen to ignore some in the past. For example, I like to prevent my Mac Pro's HDDs from sleeping because I think that power cycles reduce their reliability.

Point being there is an optimum temperature within that range. I personally believe that when Apple ships it with an adaptor they ship it so that it charges at an optimal rate/temperature for that device. Whilst you can charge with a more powerful adaptor, that does increase the heat. It may not be at or above 45C but on the curve from optimal to 45C it is certainly higher and as such has a degradation on the battery. That is very clear from that article. I'm sure Apple has run the maths on how much extra degradation there will be and have found the risk to be tolerable, but then, their tests are always on naked iPhones and there is no note of what service they conduct the tests on. So I believe users end results will vary. For me, I have not had luck with higher amp chargers. I will do what a commenter just above here does. Charge with the correct charger at night and when I can, and a faster charger when I need the extra charger quicker.

 

[HiRez]

One example: for the last 3 years I have charged my iPhone 4S with my 10W iPad charger, and I charge it almost every night whether it needs it or not. Even today, the battery life is still outstanding (for a phone this size). I still get 2-3 days under light/standby use, 1-2 days under moderate use, under a day for heavy use (GPS, camera, games, etc.). I haven't noticed an appreciable drop off since it was new (although there probably is to some extent). That's pretty impressive, with the charge cycles numbering close to 1,000. Even if using the 5W charger would be better, I doubt I could tell.

 

[b0fh]

Makes me wish they put one of these in with the Plus. It (obviously) charges way slower than my 5.

Err, I've found that my iPhone 5 and 5S charges faster on a 2.1A charger, than when on a 1A charger.

 

[BJMRamage]

so, with Apple's site/store they say the iPad charger is compatible with all iPhones.

are they saying this in hopes of ruining your phone and thus getting you to upgrade sooner or is it fine to use...

and does compatible not actually mean preferred. and that's the reason.

 

[Mad Mac Maniac]

Call me an idiot, but I'm 99% sure that my iPhone 5 charges way faster with the iPad charger...

 

[shurcooL]

http://www.apple.com/batteries/

 

[zhenya]

I am testing this with my iPhone 6 right now (not 6+) and plugged in to a genuine Apple 12w adapter I am not pulling more than 6w with the phone's screen off. This would indicate that only the 6+ model is capable of faster charging with the 2.1A adapter.

 

[ConnYoungy]

Is this news? I've charged by 4, 5 and 5s all with an iPad charger