Apple could ruin iPhone’s fast charging feature this year

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iPhone 18W fast charger
Choose your iPhone fast charger carefully.
Photo: Chongdiantou

Apple finally brought fast charging to the iPhone last fall, but with this year’s refresh, one big change could ruin it.

Recent reports have claimed Apple will ship 18W fast charging adapters with all 2018 devices, which would be terrific — but if yours breaks or disappears, don’t think about replacing it with a cheaper model from another manufacturer.

Apple still ships standard 5W charging adapters with iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X, so you’ll need to purchase an upgrade if you want faster top-ups. But that upgrade doesn’t have to come from Apple; the 2017 iPhone lineup plays nicely with faster chargers from third-party vendors.

Apple could put a stop to that this year.

2018 iPhone lineup could block third-party fast chargers

Japanese blog Macotakara, citing multiple supply chain sources, claims Apple’s next-generation devices will only support fast charging with Apple-certified chargers.

Even if your third-party adapter offers 18W charging, new iPhones are expected to limit their power draw to just 2.5W if the adapter and cable aren’t certified.

This doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll have to use an official Apple adapter for fast charging. But you can be sure certified models from selected partners will cost a lot more than the third-party alternatives you can currently pick up from almost anywhere for very little.

A previous report claimed Apple’s new 18W USB-C adapter won’t be available to purchase separately at launch, which could make compatible fast charging adapters hard to come by when the new iPhone lineup makes its debut this fall.

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