Apple MagSafe Provides Full Charging Power Only With Original Power Supply Unit

The first tests show that Apple’s MagSafe charger for the iPhone 12 (Pro) can only call up its full “wireless” 15-watt power in conjunction with a new, original 20-watt power supply. Users, therefore, have to plan more budget for iPhone accessories.

Apart from the classic Lightning port and wireless charging via commercially available wireless chargers with the Qi standard, the MagSafe charger provides another method of power supply that is magnetically docked to the recently introduced models of the iPhone 12 family. The procedure enables the new iOS smartphones to be charged wirelessly with up to 15 watts. So far, the upper limit was 7.5 watts. However, the new technology should have a catch.

A new charging profile could prevent fast charging

As the YouTuber Aron Zollo has found out, the full 15-watt power is only achieved if users have the new original power supply, which delivers an output of 20 watts and currently costs $19 in the Apple Store. Even when connecting more powerful MacBook power supplies or those from various third-party providers, charging with the promised 15 watts should not yet be possible. In the first test with a total of seven power supplies, the following results were obtained.

• Apple Power Adapter (20 watts) – 15 watts
• Apple Power Adapter (18 watts) – 13 watts
• Apple Power Adapter (96 watts) – 10 watts
• Anker PowerPort Atom PD 1 (30 watts) – 7.5 to 10 watts
• Aukey Power Adapter (65 watts) – 8 to 9 watts
• Google Pixel 5 power adapter – 7.5 to 9 watts
• Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra power adapter – 6 to 7 watts

The colleagues from MacRumors assume that the MagSafe Charger has a new charging profile that many older power supplies do not support. However, it is quite possible that third-party providers could include this in new products and charge the iPhone 12 Pro with a full 15 watts in the future. The tests of Zollotech continue to show that Apple an ” aggressive temperature control sets”. If the smartphone and its battery get too warm when charging, the performance should be throttled to below 10 watts.

Using the magnetic wireless charger on older devices such as the iPhone 11 Pro Max or iPhone 8 Plus is not advisable. A maximum of 5 watts is used here.