Why Is Apple Making Wireless Charging so Damn Confusing?
Most people buy a wireless charger for one reason, and that reason is the convenience of placing the device on a round stand (or stand, or whatever) to restore its battery. No more energy bricks. No more cables. No need to buy cables anymore because they are worn out and broken after six months of repeated plugging and unplugging. People need a tablet that charges their device; they don’t want trouble.
So why is Apple so confusing about wireless charging?
Wireless charging speed is a mess
If you’re not familiar with the nuances of wireless charging performance, the simple truth is that – at least right now – it offers slower performance than you can get with a cable.
For example, Apple’s new MagSafe charger can charge your iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro, or iPhone 12 Pro Max compatible with MagSafe with 15W. But this is only if you have connected it to a new power adapter Apple at 20 watts . If raw speeds are important to you, you’re better off just plugging your iPhone 12 directly into a power adapter (using a USB-C to Lightning cable), or using one of Apple’s bulkier MacBook power adapters that can charge at much faster speeds.
(If that sounds confusing, don’t even tell me about MacBook charging quirks.)
I’ll say one thing right off the bat: you don’t need to buy an expensive MacBook charger to charge your iPhone. Just use what you have (or what you can find on the cheap), as even the 61W MacBook power adapter is overkill for your iPhone’s needs .
Sharing the Apple MagSafe charger with another power adapter rated for higher wattage will also not work. As PCWorld recently revealed, you will still fall back to 12W even if you plugged a MagSafe charger into, say, a 60W Apple MacBook charger.
Does it matter if one wireless charger is slightly better than the other?
In fact, the difference between all of these wireless charging speeds is practically negligible. You’ll probably only lose a few minutes, whether you’re charging wirelessly at 12W or 15W (or even 17W as PCWorld measures when using Apple’s 20W Power Adapter with MagSafe charger).
This is why I am not particularly concerned that the iPhone 12 Mini is putting out a maximum of 12W on the MagSafe charger, instead of the theoretical 15W that other iPhone 12s can get; after all, it doesn’t really matter. The point is more that charging – wired or wireless – is still a big headache to consider if you just put performance first. (And I’d rather use MagSafe, which gives you up to 12-15W of power, than a standard Qi wireless charger, which gives you a measly 7.5W.)
As the Wall Street Journal notes, the Apple MagSafe charger performs much better than the 7.5W wireless charger. However, plugging your iPhone into the 20W charger that you have to use with MagSafe will save you nearly half your charging time to half. Depending on the test, the differences can be even more significant:
Charging via MagSafe is convenient and that’s all, of course, but if you’re stranded, leave that behind and grab the cable right away.
Don’t forget the wireless charging surcharge
I love my wireless chargers, but that’s only because my iPhone spends most of its life sitting on my desk or nightstand – such is the reality of the great quarantine. Apple’s MagSafe charger costs $ 40, which is double the price of a good aftermarket charger , at a reasonable price for what it offers. Pay twice as much; charges (not quite) twice as fast.
However, Apple’s MagSafe Duo Charger is a heck of a price tag. It sells for a staggering $ 130, giving you a cool wireless charger for your iPhone paired with a wireless charger for your Apple Watch. If you buy this thing, you deserve to worry about it for months later.
Remember, MagSafe is still in its infancy; there will be many other MagSafe chargers that look cooler, perform better, and are cheaper. Second, you pay over $ 100 to attach two chargers to your thigh. There is no reason for this.
A smarter approach is to insert a regular Apple Watch charger into one of these $ 11 stands . Then buy a vanilla MagSafe charger (if needed) and you’ll still be $ 80 ahead of the game. Or get a regular dual-stand charger for your iPhone and Apple Watch. If you need fast charging, connect the cable to your iPhone. This way it runs out of battery faster than even using the best MagSafe charger you can buy. Otherwise, who cares if the iPhone takes extra time to charge when it’s just sitting on the stand for hours?