7.5W wireless charging speed now available on new iPhones

Nov 14, 2017 09:05 GMT  ·  By

One of the biggest changes coming to the iPhone device lineup with the release of 2017 models is the addition of wireless charging, a feature that has been around for several years already on Android devices.

And while many considered that it’s better late than never for wireless charging on the iPhone, Apple’s new feature was offered with substantial speed limitations, allowing for only 5 watts charging with compatible Qi wireless chargers.

Apple promised faster wireless charging speed from the very beginning, but little has been said about the timeline the company’s engineers had in mind to make this happen.

But as it turns out, Apple unlocked 7.5W wireless charging speed with the release of iOS 11.2 (currently in beta), despite no announcement being made in this regard.

Coming to everyone with iOS 11.2

A report from MacRumors points to a noticeable increase in charging speed when using 7.5W wireless chargers, though it’s pretty clear that these iPhone figures are still far from what rival models can achieve with 15W charging support. The iPhone X, however, gained 6 percent more battery life during a 30-minute charging cycle when a 7.5W wireless charger was used in a test conducted by the cited source.

Apple is already selling several 7.5W-capable wireless chargers and there are several others out there that can be used with an iPhone, but keep in mind that iOS 11.2 must be installed on the iPhone in order to benefit from this upgrade.

This particular version of iOS is currently in beta stage and should be released to production devices in the coming weeks, but at this point no specifics are available on when exactly Apple plans to ship the new update.

Wireless charging is available only on the iPhone 8, the iPhone 8 Plus, and the iPhone X, all of which come with a glass body allowing for this feature. The same charging system should be improved on the next-generation iPhone models launching next year, as Apple already holds several patents allowing for dramatic improvements, including wireless charging that could work across the room.