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Wireless charging questions

Pagemakers

Pagemakers

macrumors 68030
Original poster
Mar 28, 2008
2,945
1,223
Manchester UK
  1. How many watts does the iPhone X support for wireless charging?
  2. What is the max Qi charging device currrently available?
  3. If point 2 is more than 1, could the iphone be fixed by a software update?
  4. Compared to wired charging how fast is wireless?
 
Last edited:
Hmm... Your questions can be either answered, or deduced with a quick search for the Qi wireless standards and other info available about the charging system used.
So, my attempt:
1. Probably supports the Qi standard for low power charging, which would be a max of 5 watts.
2. Qi charging devices support low power (up to 5 watts, typical for mobile devices), medium power (up to 120 watts, for displays or laptops), or high power, supplying up to 1 kW, allowing the powering of kitchen utensils, for example.
3. I will again guess that the support for wireless charging systems can be modified by firmware updates. Notice that your question about point 2 being more than point 1 is a given, as the wireless standards provide for devices that can use a LOT more power than a smart phone :D
4. The wireless power consortium has a presentation online showing that wireless charging can be just as efficient as wired charging. With that in mind - assuming that the wired and wireless options offer the same current, then you might expect that wired charging will be just as fast as wireless charging.
 
Thanks. I have searched and don't see the answers anywhere. Thus my question.

Not really any clearer with your reply.

Thanks anyway though.
 
I guess you want specific answers that won't be available until the iP-X is out, and in use by the public.

The techy questions about how much power is available on a Qi charger is part of the wireless charging standards.
So, I made my responses a little clearer - hope it is more understandable now.

1: You can expect that Apple will follow the industry standard for wireless low power device charging.
2: Industry standard: Low power devices will have a maximum charging current of 5w.
3: If different kinds of charging support is needed, and a firmware update will fix, then of course you can expect that Apple would offer that support, either with a system software update, or a firmware update of some kind.
4: Assuming that both wired and wireless have the same current available, then you can expect that both would have similar charging rates. The industry claims that the efficiency of both are comparable.
 
Thank you for your reply.

It's a shame 10w is not supported in something like this... https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01EUD6VF0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_RTpVzbHMTY4W5

Seems odd, with Apple so late to the wireless charging party they choose to support the older, slower standard.

I'm not so sure a software update would fix this - It could be a hardware limitation.
 
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We have to wait for the Software Update for Mophie Charging Pad and wait for the Appel Charging Pad.

Apple did here a very confusing job. Appe should inform us what the coming updates next year exactly does.
 
DeltaMac said:
I guess you want specific answers that won't be available until the iP-X is out, and in use by the public.

The techy questions about how much power is available on a Qi charger is part of the wireless charging standards.
So, I made my responses a little clearer - hope it is more understandable now.

1: You can expect that Apple will follow the industry standard for wireless low power device charging.
2: Industry standard: Low power devices will have a maximum charging current of 5w.
3: If different kinds of charging support is needed, and a firmware update will fix, then of course you can expect that Apple would offer that support, either with a system software update, or a firmware update of some kind.
4: Assuming that both wired and wireless have the same current available, then you can expect that both would have similar charging rates. The industry claims that the efficiency of both are comparable.
Click to expand...
You can expect to wait for one year at the minimum for Apple to catch up to the real world. But you will have instantaneous updates that don't do anything.
 
If the charging components in the iphone are 5W a software update won't change that to 10W.

The tech specs on the Apple site do not confirm the wattage either way as far as I can see.
 
Ralfi said:
Since I plan on only using wireless on the bedside table, for overnight charging, it won't bother me.

But since I don't plan on going wireless any time soon, & by the time I do, faster wireless charging may be available, it definitely won't bother me. :D
Click to expand...

The number of times I get into bed with 5-10% battery remaining and then browse for 30+ minutes. That's the one time I need a cable!
 
Ralfi said:
Since I plan on only using wireless on the bedside table, for overnight charging, it won't bother me.

But since I don't plan on going wireless any time soon, & by the time I do, faster wireless charging may be available, it definitely won't bother me. :D
Click to expand...

Charging speed has never made any difference to me on my iPhones or iPads as I, like you, charge a night while sleeping.

Problem is there are some here who do not sleep.
 
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Some just use it alot more and don't get through a day without charging in between. And i can see why they would want a faster charger then.
 
Pagemakers said:
The number of times I get into bed with 5-10% battery remaining and then browse for 30+ minutes. That's the one time I need a cable!
Click to expand...
You can have both you know... :eek:
[doublepost=1505563339][/doublepost]
Newtons Apple said:
As predicted, slow charging with wireless is going to irritate so many.
Click to expand...
Predicted by who exactly?

And who are these "many" that have been asked?

Also, how many is many?
 
Would this car charger be too much or too little power to power a small wireless charging pad in my car?

I'm also planning to use it to power my Echo Dot.
 
1. 7 watts
2. 15 watts
3. could what be fixed via a software update - the phone or the charger?
4. current iterations of wireless / induction charging is not very fast. if default charging mat delivers 7 watts at best will perform like the default wall charger (5v @ 1.2A). iPad charger will beat that any day (5v @ 2.1A). in theory a 15 watt charging mat (maybe 5v @ 3A?) can best an iPad charger but only if you charge one phone

Pagemakers said:
  1. How many watts does the iPhone X support for wireless charging?
  2. What is the max Qi charging device currrently available?
  3. If point 2 is more than 1, could it be fixed by a software update?
  4. Compared to wired charging how fast is wireless?
Click to expand...
 
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benzslrpee said:
1. 7 watts
2. 15 watts
3. could what be fixed via a software update - the phone or the charger?
4. current iterations of wireless / induction charging is not very fast. if default charging mat delivers 7 watts at best will perform like the default wall charger (5v @ 1.2A). iPad charger will beat that any day (5v @ 2.1A). in theory a 15 watt charging mat (maybe 5v @ 3A?) can best an iPad charger but only if you charge one phone
Click to expand...

Thank you - point 3, the iPhone.
 
my best guess is the phone is already 15W capable. Qi 1.2 standard that spec out 15W charging was released Feb 2017. if what Apple said during the keynote about working with Qi is correct, i would assume it is to understand how to implement Qi 1.2

Pagemakers said:
Thank you - point 3, the iPhone.
Click to expand...
 
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