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Iphone Power Apple Hardware Technology

iPhone 8 and iPhone X Will Support Fast Charging, But Only If You Buy a New USB-C Charger (9to5mac.com) 144

Posted by BeauHD from the nickel-and-dime dept.
One little detail Apple didn't mention at its event in Cupertino, California yesterday was the fact that the new iPhones will support fast charging. According to the official tech specs page, the new iPhones can recharge up to 50 percent of their battery life in a 30-minute charge. The catch? You have to use a USB-C charger and Lightning cable (sold separately). 9to5Mac reports: iPhone 8 battery life is roughly equivalent to the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. On a full charge, expect up to 12 hours of internet usage on iPhone 8 and iPhone X, with up to 13 hours on iPhone 8 Plus. With a 50% quick charge in 30 minutes, you are effectively gaining hours of additional battery life during the day, even if you only plug in for a short period. However, to take advantage of fast-charging, you cannot use the Lightning to USB-A cable that is bundled in the box. Fast charging requires a USB-C to Lightning cable and the USB-C wall charger. More specifically, one of three USB-C wall chargers. Apple sells 29W, 61W and 87W variants of its USB-C power adapters. Prices range from $49 to $79. Apple doesn't break out specific numbers on how each model affects charging times, it's not clear if the cheapest 29W model can achieve the advertised 50% recharge in 30 minutes.
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iPhone 8 and iPhone X Will Support Fast Charging, But Only If You Buy a New USB-C Charger More

iPhone 8 and iPhone X Will Support Fast Charging, But Only If You Buy a New USB-C Charger

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  • the right thing to do? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by intrico ( 100334 ) on Wednesday September 13, 2017 @07:23PM (#55192331) Homepage

    Of course, the right thing for Apple to do would have been to completely replace the proprietary lightning connectors with the standard USB-C connectors on all of their new device models going forward, but alas, shareholders gotta eat.

    • Re:the right thing to do? (Score:5, Funny)

      by msauve ( 701917 ) on Wednesday September 13, 2017 @07:51PM (#55192501)
      They don't have that much courage.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Uberbah ( 647458 )

      Of course, the right thing for Apple to do would have been to completely replace the proprietary lightning connectors with the standard USB-C connectors on all of their new device models going forward, but alas, shareholders gotta eat.

      Then you'd just whine about Apple forcing their consumers to buy new cables again, same as when they switched from the dock connector to lighting. But alas, hateboi wankers gotta wank.

      • At least iPhones are finally supporting wireless charging, so at worst they can place their devices on a mat regardless of connector.

    • Of course, the right thing for Apple to do would have been to completely replace the proprietary lightning connectors with the standard USB-C connectors on all of their new device models going forward, but alas, shareholders gotta eat.

      Queen tried to warn them ages ago. "Thunderbolt and lightning, very, very fright'ning..."

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by sh00z ( 206503 )

      Of course, the right thing for Apple to do would have been to completely replace the proprietary lightning connectors with the standard USB-C connectors on all of their new device models going forward, but alas, shareholders gotta eat.

      Call me when the USB-C connector supports Audio Line-out. Until then, please keep counterproductive opinions to yourself.

  • Nothing new (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Ichijo ( 607641 ) on Wednesday September 13, 2017 @07:23PM (#55192333) Journal

    My Nexus 6P also can only fast charge on a USB-C charger.

    The real news is that the iPhones don't include the cable and fast charger in the box.

    • If you use a decent gauge regular microUSB cable, you can chain two adapters to plug into a USB-C charge port.
      1) USB-A to Micro-USB (c.f. an OTG adapter would work),
      2) A Micro-USB to USB-C adapter,

      You should get 3.0 Amps @ 5V -- which is about as fast as you can get. Even Qualcomm's QuickCharge doesn't do much more than 15watts, as QC does higher voltages at a lesser amperage for parts of the charging cycle.

    • The real news is that the iPhones don't include the cable and fast charger in the box.

      This is the main complaint. Most phones fast charge only under specific scenarios. But Apple has historically been known for the "it just works" and "everything is compatible with everything else" approach.

      Not only does the iPhone not come with the ability to fast charge with the items in its box, it also doesn't come with the ability to plug it in to the Macbook. Despite Apple insisting that USB-C is here now and backwards compatibility is not needed it somehow ranks as an optional extra on their most popu

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by mjwx ( 966435 )

      My Nexus 6P also can only fast charge on a USB-C charger.

      The real news is that the iPhones don't include the cable and fast charger in the box.

      My Nexus 5x fast charges from the wall using the cable and charger provided in the box. It also fast charges from a USB 3.0 port, but not as fast as from the wall.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Shoten ( 260439 )

      My Nexus 6P also can only fast charge on a USB-C charger.

      The real news is that the iPhones don't include the cable and fast charger in the box.

      Exactly.

      The title of this posting could be paraphrased as, "Something gives you new hardware functionality...BUT ONLY IF YOU BUY THE NEW HARDWARE! *GASP*"

      Really, I'm not sure why people don't automatically grasp that faster charging than standard USB = higher flow of charging = higher flow than a non-USB-C connector can supply. It's not Apple's fault that a new hardware spec (USB-C) with a new bit of functionality (an option for higher power supply) doesn't automatically cause that functionality to flow ba

    • My Nexus 6P also can only fast charge on a USB-C charger.

      The real news is that the iPhones don't include the cable and fast charger in the box.

      Dear Smartphone World,

      You're doing it wrong.

      Sincerely,

      - Apple Profit Margin Analysis Group

    • And they don't mind yanking another $50 out of their customer base to get one.

  • 7+ Already supports Fast Charging (Score:3)

    by glennrrr ( 592457 ) on Wednesday September 13, 2017 @07:24PM (#55192339)
    I have a 29W power supply that charges my wife's 7+ noticeably quicker. Same power supply also fast charges the new iPad Pro 12.9.

    • Faster than what ?

      Than standard USB wall-wart's max 5V 2A ?
      (Meaning that indeed the smartphone manages to ask for 12V 2A using USB Power Delivery protocole - or any other QuickCharge variant)

      Or faster than the standard 5V 1A that was packaged with it ?
      (Meaning that the smartphone was simply using the standard max 5V 2A that the packaged wall wart couldn't achieve and that the 29W power supply could deliver by default if the device didn't engage in any USB-PD negociations).

  • So basically for modern stuff they're moving towards USB-C, which various Androids (such as Samsung S8) are already using. The only difference is that you also need a proprietary Apple cable to make it work, because someone has to pay for that fancy new 5-billion dollar building.

    • No, the darkening (lightning) connector is still very much in the loop.

      Its better than some dumb industry standard.

    • Re:Innovation (Score:5, Informative)

      by blindseer ( 891256 ) <blindseer@noSPAm.earthlink.net> on Wednesday September 13, 2017 @11:59PM (#55193251)

      Ah, you seem to forget that the cell phone makers had to be dragged, kicking and screaming, into using a standard charging port. If China and the EU had not made the cell phone makers get in a room and come up with a standard battery charging port then you'd be complaining (still) about how every phone maker has a different charger.

      Apple uses a USB port to charge like every other cell phone. Sure, you have to buy a cable to plug it in, also like any other cell phone. You don't have to buy cables from Apple either, I found "Apple certified" cables for $8 on Amazon. I'm sure you can find them cheaper too, just like you can get a cheap USB-C cable and take your chances on it not working or breaking your phone. Before the USB port was mandated as a standard a lot of 5 billion dollar construction projects were funded from selling vendor specific chargers.

      The transition to USB-C hasn't exactly been smooth either. Lots of cell phone makers couldn't be bothered with complying with the standard. The phone might have a port that *LOOKS* like a USB-C port but plugging in a charger other than what came with it could damage the phone, or limit it to slow charging rates as it reverted to voltage and current that complies with USB 2.0. I seem to recall an article on this website called Slashdot, perhaps you've heard of it, where there was a discussion on Google "suggesting" that Android phone makers comply with the USB standard or lose the Google endorsement.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Ogive17 ( 691899 )

        Apple uses a USB port to charge like every other cell phone. Sure, you have to buy a cable to plug it in, also like any other cell phone.

        My S7 came with a cord and plug that does fast charging. So unless I misinterpreted your post, the quoted portion was wrong.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

        If "Apple certified" cables on Amazon are anything like "USB-IF certified" cables on Amazon then I wouldn't get my hopes up about them. Even if they work today, Apple might brick them with a software update tomorrow.

      • Apple uses a USB port to charge like every other cell phone. Sure, you have to buy a cable to plug it in, also like any other cell phone.

        Uh, no. My S8+ came with a charger and cable that enables fast charging, I didn't have to buy anything. My old S5 also came with a cable, as did my daughter's iPhone SE.

  • OMGWTFBBQ!?!?! (Score:5, Insightful)

    by JBMcB ( 73720 ) on Wednesday September 13, 2017 @07:28PM (#55192365)

    Holy cow, I'm glad this information is front page news. This is groundbreaking journalism. No clickbait tagline here, no siree. All that's missing is the analysis on how devastating this information will be to the new iPhone's sales.

    This should be part of a new series. What cables will next-gen devices come with? Do HP desktops come with regular round power cables, or those weird, flat, 3-wire jobs? And, most importantly, HOW LONG WILL THEY BE? If they include a 3-foot but I need a 4-foot I'll have to go out and buy one!

    Seriously, is nothing else going on in tech right now?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Xenx ( 2211586 )
      In all fairness, as the Apple event was yesterday, you can expect "news" about it to be populous.

    • Seriously, is nothing else going on in tech right now?

      You think that the company well known for compatibility and "it just works" product lines, releasing a product where one of the advertised features doesn't work, is not compatible with their other products, and unlike every other phone manufacturer doesn't include a fast charger in the box isn't worthy of news?

      Heck this is a two-for-one. I'm quite impressed that with the latest and greatest model they are STILL not automatically bundling it with USB-C despite Apple's insistence that USB-A is dead when it re

  • USB PD 2.0 (Score:5, Informative)

    by garote ( 682822 ) on Wednesday September 13, 2017 @07:29PM (#55192371) Homepage

    Any charging brick that supports the USB PD 2.0 usb power delivery [usb.org] standard will charge a MacBook, new MacBook Pro, or iPhone 8. You don't need to buy a brick from Apple for this.

    The only detail to consider is the maximum wattage the brick can put out. That's why Apple sells a larger brick for the MacBook Pro.

    Any brick - from any vendor - that can fast-charge a MacBook will fast-charge the iPhone 8 as well. The one I use is the Anker PowerPort+, but there are a number of others.

    • did iphones not do fast charging before this? been doing it for over a year with with my moto x pure

      • Re:USB PD 2.0 (Score:5, Informative)

        by garote ( 682822 ) on Thursday September 14, 2017 @01:48AM (#55193473) Homepage

        All previous iPhones have been able to pull ~10 watts out of a USB port by looking for a proprietary signal from Apple-brand chargers. (A "voltage cascade" on pins 2 and 3, a.k.a the USB data pins.)

        With that signal, the iPhone draws 2 amps (at 5v) out of the connected USB port. Without that signal, the iPhone assumes it's a USB port from some other vendor, and uses the standard USB power negotiation signals to ask for the maximum power available from the port (usually 1 amp).

        This "voltage cascade" signal is trivial to recreate in any USB wiring setup by adding two resistors. Put those in, and you signal to any Apple device that your port can supply 2 amps without problems. Many, many manufacturers have sold USB devices with "fast charging" ports containing these resistors over the last ~10 years, from USB hubs to USB ports on laptops to USB chargers that go in cars to USB charging stations at airports, et cetera. They've become so common that there's now confusion over exactly who came up with the voltage cascade signal idea.

        Now that the USB spec has given us a good standard for supplying lots of power at lots of voltages, the earlier fast-charging signal can (very slowly) be phased out.

        • thank you for the great information.

          also it seems the "turbo charge" I have jas two charge levels, 1.6 or 1.2 Amps

    • Any charging brick that supports the USB PD 2.0 usb power delivery [usb.org] standard will charge a MacBook, new MacBook Pro, or iPhone 8. You don't need to buy a brick from Apple for this.

      Yeah, except if you're an Apple only person, then you can't connect your phone to your laptop because while Apple says USB-A is dead, Apple also seems to think USB-A is very much alive.

      Let's do the dongle dance, or the I just spend $1000 on a phone and now I need to go back to the store to spend another $30 on a cable dance.

      • Apple is less concerned with connecting your phone and laptop together, than it is with giving you a cable that will connect to the vast, vast majority of charging ports available in the rest of the world.

        These days (for better or worse) you are not expected to ever need to tether your phone to your laptop. You get music from Apple Music, apps from the store on the phone, and photos and backups go through iCloud.

        I disagree with this new paradigm and it looks like you do too. I have many gigabytes of music

        • Yeah we're in agreement. I think their new slogan should be "Everything just works*"

          * Dongles must be carried at all times.

          But really from a $1000 device I would expect their fast charger to be provided along with the appropriate cable out of the box.

    • Yeah, but will those other bricks be as stylish as the Apple power brick? What will the other folks are Starbucks think if I pull out some 3rd party power brick?

      Don't think I'm gonna chance it.

  • HTC, really? (Score:3, Funny)

    by gillbates ( 106458 ) on Wednesday September 13, 2017 @07:29PM (#55192373) Homepage Journal
    I've got an HTC one that's several years old, and I can get a 50% charge in 30 minutes with a regular USB cable. I try to keep quiet around iPhone users, though, lest I disturb their superior ego. Now that will really make a mess.

    • Re: HTC, really? (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward

      This is why a lot of Samsung phones were catching fire. Similarly if I plug my iPhone into my iPad charger it charges way faster. That said it gets a lot hotter so while it's good in some cases, with the limited heat dispersion most phones have, charging lithium batteries quickly isn't always a good idea, regardless of the manufacturer. This has less to do with the phone manufacturers and more to battery limitations.

  • 29W should do it (Score:3)

    by Dan East ( 318230 ) on Wednesday September 13, 2017 @07:42PM (#55192455) Journal

    The iPhone 8 battery is rumored to perhaps be a s big as 2,700 mAh. Thus assuming no loss in charging, a 2.7 amp 5 volt power supply could charge it in one hour (that is the same amount of power the battery produces in an hour). The 29W power supply produces 5.8 amps at 5 volt (29 / 5 = 5.8). So not counting any loss, the 29W power supply produces enough power to charge the battery to 100% capacity in 28 minutes. So if we assume up to 50% inefficiency during charging, a 29W power supply could still charge the phone to 50% capacity in 30 minutes. If the battery was much larger (like in the plus models), or the charging is less efficient than 50%, a bigger power supply would be needed to charge to 50% in 30 minutes.

    • 29W is 14.5V * 2A, which keeps the current in range for the small cables.
      Common mistake to just divide the wattage by five.

    • The iPhone 8 battery is rumored to perhaps be a s big as 2,700 mAh. Thus assuming no loss in charging, a 2.7 amp 5 volt power supply could charge it in one hour (that is the same amount of power the battery produces in an hour). The 29W power supply produces 5.8 amps at 5 volt (29 / 5 = 5.8). So not counting any loss, the 29W power supply produces enough power to charge the battery to 100% capacity in 28 minutes. So if we assume up to 50% inefficiency during charging, a 29W power supply could still charge the phone to 50% capacity in 30 minutes. If the battery was much larger (like in the plus models), or the charging is less efficient than 50%, a bigger power supply would be needed to charge to 50% in 30 minutes.

      Ah, a refreshing reminder that math is the universal language that is truly timeless. Thanks for the detail.

  • They're charging 1K for the (no home button) razor, and they're charging for the charger (the razor blades)

    Oh and let's not get me started on beats headphones...

    • Even in your analogy Apple is copying their competitors. Motorola already sold a phone called the RAZR

    • What other options do they have? Let's walk through them.

      - Include a USB-C charger and cable. People then complain that the phone won't plug into their USB-A only computers without an extra adapter. People would also complain about the phone being $20 more for having the more expensive charger.
      - Don't put any charger in the box. People then complain about the phone being useless without an extra cost charger. People would not care, or even stop to consider it, that the price is $10 lower for not includ

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Kjella ( 173770 )

        I don't think including a fast adapter is exactly overcharging on a $999 phone. If they included a $3 USB-C to USB-A adapter like this [dx.com] there would be very little reason to complain since you'd get faster charging with the "native" charger and hey it kinda works with any other USB port too. But chargers are a profit center, most people need more than one (home, cabin, car, travel) and they lose or forget them so hey, let's buy one more. And in some people's mind there's only brand chargers and cheap knock-of

        • If they included a $3 USB-C to USB-A adapter like this [dx.com] there would be very little reason to complain since you'd get faster charging with the "native" charger and hey it kinda works with any other USB port too.

          They'd complain about a non-standard adapter being included in the box. That adapter is a fire hazard since it allows people to plug two USB-A ports together if used with a standard male USB-C to male USB-A cable. Such an adapter might pass the USB standards testing if it had a USB to USB controller in it, but then it wouldn't be $3 any more, it'd be more like $30.

          But chargers are a profit center, most people need more than one (home, cabin, car, travel) and they lose or forget them so hey, let's buy one more.

          Yes, people do typically buy more than one. So then why complain about the one that comes in the box? Keep it as a cheap spare and buy the ch

      • People would also complain about the phone being $20 more for having the more expensive charger.

        If you complain that a 10 dollar charger adds costs to your 1000 iPhone you have issues bigger than this.

  • Slashdot has missed the two biggest stories in tech this week, both of which happen to be feelgood stories.

    1) Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) liked an incest-porn video with his Twitter account.

    2) Martin Shkreli had his $5 million bail revoked and was put in jail for shitposting. He sent out a message on Facebook offering $5000 if someone would snip a lock of Hillary Clinton's hair. The judge deemed Shkreli a "menace to society". He will sit in jail while awaiting the appeal of his conviction for securities

  • We figured this out with the iPad Pro's earlier this year. It's not surprising the iPhones work the same.

  • My Moto X supports fast charging, if connected to a charger that supports Qualcomm QC

    The phone only came with a basic 5V 700mA charger, so I had to buy a QC compliant charger to use the feature.

  • what did you expect?

  • Comment removed based on user account deletion

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward

      50% of 100mAh, not so much.
      50% of 100 000mAh, more so.
      Not all 50% are created equal.

  • My Nokia 950 supports USB-C fast charging via a built-in USB-C port, the fast charger came WITH the phone, and I can replace the battery, which is needed because fast charging diminishes the life of the battery.

    Apple is still the suxx0r after all these years. Only dummies/sheep buy them.

  • Just use the cable and charger that ship with your phone

  • Apple ditches proprietary cable and will use the standard USB-C cable?

    Or is that not anti Apple enough?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by geekoid ( 135745 )

      I'm an idiot. Apologies. When I was at Apple last year, they were talking about how it wouldn't use lightning and just use USB C, I didn't realize they decided against that. Which is really weird, but that Apple I guess.

      Again, my apologies.

  • If you already have a USB-C charger, you don't have to buy a new one. The headline is incorrect.

  • gee they require that the charger and cord actually output enough power to charge the battery at that rate?
    If Apple had figured out how to charge a battery at a 3A rate with 2A of current I think they would have made i bit bigger deal about it.

  • I had to buy that setup something like a year ago for my wife's iPad. With the charger that came in the box, it discharges faster than it can charge if you use it while plugged in, and seems to only trickle charge if you don't use it while charging. But, with a USB-C charging and a USB-C to lightening cable, it works rather well. It charges her iPhone 7 pretty fast too. Apple really needs to step up it's packed-in power supplies to match the current needs of the equipment they're selling. (Or maybe the poin

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