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

[JBMatrix]

and the reason they didn't include the 2.1 charger is because it's unnecessary.

- it would require a packaging redesign to include it in the box
- it's also better for the battery to charge at 1a vs 2.1a, unless the battery is very big like the iPad's, which are almost 4 times as big as the Plus (11560 vs 2915) mah

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That's because it charges exactly the same on both chargers with the 4s.

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That's not quite what the video shows. The 6 WILL take advantage of the iPad charger by using the additional power for the screen or other phone internals while still charging the battery at the full rate. This will make a difference in how fast it charges under many scenarios.

100% correct this is what I state at the end. If you are USING your iPhone while charging, it makes a difference. If you are not, it does not. Period.

 

[zhenya]

and the reason they didn't include the 2.1 charger is because it's unnecessary.

- it would require a packaging redesign to include it in the box
- it's also better for the battery to charge at 1a vs 2.1a, unless the battery is very big like the iPad's, which are almost 4 times as big as the Plus (11560 vs 2915) mah

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100% correct this is what I state at the end. If you are USING your iPhone while charging, it makes a difference. If you are not, it does not. Period.

Ok, didn't realize it was your own video.

One scenario where it will also charge faster is if the screen is off but the phone is still doing something in the background. I found mine pulling 9w or so even with the screen off because it was doing a wifi sync in the background.

I do think the 6+ would have benefited by having the bigger charger in the box - I suspect it is going to take an extra hour or more to charge on the 1a charger.

 

[Narg]

Riiiiiiiight

I love all the comments here from folks who really think they know what engineering went into the iPhone 6 battery. They don't know jack.

 

[JBMatrix]

Ok, didn't realize it was your own video.

One scenario where it will also charge faster is if the screen is off but the phone is still doing something in the background. I found mine pulling 9w or so even with the screen off because it was doing a wifi sync in the background.

I do think the 6+ would have benefited by having the bigger charger in the box - I suspect it is going to take an extra hour or more to charge on the 1a charger.

True, but you could always grab the bigger charger in the store if you want faster charging.

 

[Moto G]

Before anybody says it: Yes, it is safe. The phone draws the power and only the power it needs, not the other way around. They are intentionally designed this way.

Basic physics, yes - Ohm's law.


V

I / R

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I love all the comments here from folks who really think they know what engineering went into the iPhone 6 battery. They don't know jack.

They don't appear to know Jill, either

 

[frostiex]

Exactly my point. the devices them self will use the correct current and voltages. Are you worry when u charge ur ipad? the battery are the same. its just the hardware or software learning to limit it.

That's because it charges exactly the same on both chargers with the 4s.

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That's not quite what the video shows. The 6 WILL take advantage of the iPad charger by using the additional power for the screen or other phone internals while still charging the battery at the full rate. This will make a difference in how fast it charges under many scenarios.

 

[anek007]

Thank god the phone charges at a higher amp. The charge time was bugging me. It took my 6+ 3hr 20mins from 20% to 100% on the supplied charger. Anyone tested on the 2.4a iPad charger? Everyone seems to mention 2.1a but the latest iPad came with a 2.4a. The previous iPads came with a 2.1a which is rated 10w but the 2.4a is rated 12w.

 

[zhenya]

Thank god the phone charges at a higher amp. The charge time was bugging me. It took my 6+ 3hr 20mins from 20% to 100% on the supplied charger. Anyone tested on the 2.4a iPad charger? Everyone seems to mention 2.1a but the latest iPad came with a 2.4a. The previous iPads came with a 2.1a which is rated 10w but the 2.4a is rated 12w.

Most of these tests have been done with the 12w charger. It looks to take about 2 hours to charge the 6+ with that one.

 

[anek007]

Most of these tests have been done with the 12w charger. It looks to take about 2 hours to charge the 6+ with that one.

The 12w rated iPad charger is 2.4a not 2.1a. I haven't seen anyone mentioned 2.4a. The original poster stated his was 2.1a. The iPhone seems to pull higher wattage than what the charger is rated. My iPhone 6+ pulls 6.5w and my iPhone 4s is pulling 6.3w. Only the newest ipad came either the 2.4a charger. Maybe I'll swing by the Apple Store this weekend and pick one up to test out. If the 2.1a charger is pulling 12w then it's possible the 2.4a could pull 14w.

 

[rGiskard]

Before anybody says it: Yes, it is safe. The phone draws the power and only the power it needs, not the other way around. They are intentionally designed this way.

It's safe, but charging at 5W instead of 10-12W will prolong the life of the battery, which may be why Apple included a 5W charger with the new iPhones.

LiPo batteries do best with gentle charging and discharging. It would be best to charge with 5W and only go to 12W when you absolutely need a fast charge.

 

[C DM]

It's safe, but charging at 5W instead of 10-12W will prolong the life of the battery, which may be why Apple included a 5W charger with the new iPhones.

LiPo batteries do best with gentle charging and discharging. It would be best to charge with 5W and only go to 12W when you absolutely need a fast charge.

Or as some have pointed out it won't really result in much of a noticeable difference in most cases either way.

 

[rGiskard]

Or as some have pointed out it won't really result in much of a noticeable difference in most cases either way.

Why not prolong battery life if it's so easy? Charge with 5W if you have the time, or 12W if you need it fast. I have a charger with one 5W port and one 12W port, so it's only a matter of plugging into a different port.

 

[zhenya]

The 12w rated iPad charger is 2.4a not 2.1a. I haven't seen anyone mentioned 2.4a. The original poster stated his was 2.1a. The iPhone seems to pull higher wattage than what the charger is rated. My iPhone 6+ pulls 6.5w and my iPhone 4s is pulling 6.3w. Only the newest ipad came either the 2.4a charger. Maybe I'll swing by the Apple Store this weekend and pick one up to test out. If the 2.1a charger is pulling 12w then it's possible the 2.4a could pull 14w.

My own tests posted here with the 5s and 6 were done with the 2.4a charger, but I don't have a 6+.

 

[sportsfan]

Wait, this article makes it seem like the iPhone5 did not charge any faster with an iPad charger....I disagree! I saw much faster charge times.

 

[future.music]

Don't think this is a good idea

About a year ago, I was in an Apple Store looking for a replacement plug for my iPhone 5. I asked a member of staff, an Apple Store 'Genius', for one and he told me that while I could buy a 12W plug - and it would charge the phone much faster - he did not recommend it as it would take its toll on the battery.

So, there you go. Not recommended.

 

[kenroberts83]

don't be stupid, your iPad battery is designed for that specific amperage. The iPhone is not - ask yourself this. If it was good for the iPhone battery to take higher amps would Apple not give you a higher amp charger?

While your statement may be true, the bigger charger also doesn't fit in the iPhone packaging. Sure, you can go with bigger packaging, but then you can ship and store fewer at time. It's probably also a more expensive charger, and considered by Apple to be an unnecessary expense. Given that the iPhone still only has 1GB of RAM, I wouldn't be surprised if this is simply based on cost considerations.

 

[zhenya]

Wait, this article makes it seem like the iPhone5 did not charge any faster with an iPad charger....I disagree! I saw much faster charge times.

About a year ago, I was in an Apple Store looking for a replacement plug for my iPhone 5. I asked a member of staff, an Apple Store 'Genius', for one and he told me that while I could buy a 12W plug - and it would charge the phone much faster - he did not recommend it as it would take its toll on the battery.

So, there you go. Not recommended.

Nice to see that not reading the thread doesn't stop people from posting!

 

[LeeTom]

What's also awesome is my late-2013 Retina MacBook Pro charges my iPhone 6 at 2100mA on either USB port! I was going to get an Apple 12W Power Adapter, but my rMBP had me covered. And it charges FAST!!!

Woo hoo!

 

[garylapointe]

Charging with more powerful adapters is hard on the li-ion battery. While it will give you a quick charge it will take a major toll on the batter life after a few months. There are hundreds of articles/videos on why this is so.

If this (taking a "major toll") is true, it surprises me that Apple would list most (all?) of the older model iPhones (and iPods and iPads) as compatible with the iPad charger. http://store.apple.com/us/product/MD836LL/A/apple-12w-usb-power-adapter?fnode=3c

Seems like lots of people would be returning in warranty products after a few months...

Gary

 

[zhenya]

If this (taking a "major toll") is true, it surprises me that Apple would list most (all?) of the older model iPhones (and iPods and iPads) as compatible with the iPad charger. http://store.apple.com/us/product/MD836LL/A/apple-12w-usb-power-adapter?fnode=3c

Seems like lots of people would be returning in warranty products after a few months...

Gary

They are fully compatible because the charge rate is dictated by the device, not the maximum output of the charger. Pre iPhone 6 devices were limited to the same 6w maximum from any charger so there is no 'major toll' because the charge rate is exactly the same (and as a result, no benefit of a faster charge).

 

[C DM]

Wait, this article makes it seem like the iPhone5 did not charge any faster with an iPad charger....I disagree! I saw much faster charge times.

Seems like you might not have seen what you thought you might have seen. Aside from physical limits there that essentially prevent that, even actual comparison tests were done to show that the speed of charging was not really significantly faster.

 

[ShinySteelRobot]

It maybe safe, but it is not good for the battery to do this. I swear the quality of MR reporting his hitting rock bottom recently. I mean is this article for real?

Any device will charge quicker if you pump up the amps. Likewise it will charge slower if you use less amps. I don't recommend anyone does this regularly.

Yikes. Science fail. Somewhere, Edison and Tesla are crying.

 

[5H3PH3RD]

While your statement may be true, the bigger charger also doesn't fit in the iPhone packaging. Sure, you can go with bigger packaging, but then you can ship and store fewer at time. It's probably also a more expensive charger, and considered by Apple to be an unnecessary expense. Given that the iPhone still only has 1GB of RAM, I wouldn't be surprised if this is simply based on cost considerations.

It would, however, be FAR cheaper from a manufacturing and engineering point of view far outweighing additional unit cost and packaging. If you standardised you could then also move to selling the phones without the chargers thus reducing waste when people reuse their old ones. Further reducing Apple's costs whilst maintaining profit.

Yikes. Science fail. Somewhere, Edison and Tesla are crying.

Really, do explain then.

 

[yg17]

Well isn't this obvious given the fact that the ipad chager outputs more power than the 5W iPhone charger?

The iPad charger is capable of outputting more power than the 5W iPhone charger, but ultimately, it will only output what the plugged in device needs - up to the max (12W I think). That's why you've always been able to use iPad chargers for iPhones, it just provided no benefit until now.

 

[C DM]

It would, however, be FAR cheaper from a manufacturing and engineering point of view far outweighing additional unit cost and packaging. If you standardised you could then also move to selling the phones without the chargers thus reducing waste when people reuse their old ones. Further reducing Apple's costs whilst maintaining profit.



Really, do explain then.

Explanations have been provided up and down this thread--iOS devices limit what they take in to charge, so, no, putting in a higher output won't necessarily charge things faster if the device itself limits what it takes in to something lower anyway. Pretty simple.