Comparing Charging Speeds With ‘Faster Wireless Charging’ in iOS 11.2 ⇥ birchtree.me
iOS 11.2 is currently in beta, and will be released to all iPhone and iPad users in the coming weeks, and one of the key features for iPhone 8/8 Plus/X owners is accelerated wireless charging. Previously, all wireless charging was limited to 5W, but this update will raise that limit to 7.5W. That’s a 50% increase in power on paper, but I had to know what the real world difference was.
The only place I’m considering using one of these inductive charging pads is on my desk at work, because I still use wired headphones because I can’t find a pair of wireless headphones that I like. But I’m having a hard time justifying the expense for what is effectively a glorified trickle charger, especially since battery life with my iPhone X has been fantastic.
Update: I’ve heard that 7.5W charging is only supported on certain charging bases; as far as I can figure out, that’s limited right now to the Mophie and Belkin ones that are sold through Apple’s online store. Both of those charging bases carry a note like this:
High-speed wireless charging
Leverages Qi wireless technology to deliver safe, quick-charging speeds with up to 7.5W of power.
As Federico Viticci writes, the Qi standard supports up to 15W, so I’m not sure why the third beta of iOS 11.2 unlocks only up to 7.5W, nor do I understand why only specific base stations will apparently support this faster charging rate.