Apple's “It's Glowtime” event was packed with new announcements, including the debut of the iPhone 16 lineup alongside the Apple Watch Series 10, new AirPods models, and more. With so many announcements, it would have been easy to miss that Apple is bringing a major charging upgrade to the iPhone 16 lineup.
If we take a look at the spec pages for the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro, we'll find a small but important change to the charging and battery life of these devices. That's because these products now support MagSafe wireless charging at up to 25W (provided you have a 30W or higher power adapter) – nearly double the previous limit of 15W. And it will also work with the Qi2 standard for better compatibility, though it only goes up to 15W.
MagSafe’s new 25W limit could make a big difference to your device’s charging times. According to Apple’s own figures, you’ll now be able to charge your iPhone 16 or iPhone 16 Pro to 50% in 30 minutes. This is true for both MagSafe wireless charging and USB-C wired charging, as long as you use a 30W or 20W adapter for each, respectively.
Compare that to the iPhone 15 lineup, which was capable of fast-charging up to 50% in 30 minutes, but only using a cable. On those devices, MagSafe charging was limited to 15W, the same power output limit MagSafe has had since it was introduced in 2020.
Flying under the radar
Apple barely mentioned this charging speed boost during its presentation at the event. The company’s marketing chief, Greg Joswiak, simply said that the iPhone 16 range will come with “a new MagSafe charger for even faster wireless charging.” Joswiak didn’t mention any specific power output or charging time figures, while Apple’s press releases buried the details in their footnotes.
That means it would be very easy to miss out on this important update. If you want your iPhone to charge as quickly as possible, that could be a tempting reason to update.
Phones have been offering fast charging for some time now, and many of the best Android phones come with extremely fast charging times — the Realme GT 3, for example, features 240W fast charging. However, that requires a cable (the Realme GT 3 doesn’t offer wireless charging at all, in fact), and wireless charging has failed to deliver anything close to the speeds it already has. While Apple’s 25W MagSafe upgrade falls far short of the best wired charging speeds, it’s still a welcome improvement.
There were plenty of other improvements announced with the iPhone 16 lineup, including a new camera control button, faster chips, improved cameras, and more. While the charging upgrade didn't make as much of a splash as some of the other new features, it could prove just as important.
For our first impressions of one of the new iPhones, read our hands-on review of the iPhone 16 Pro.
