iPhone XS improvements to Qi wireless charging limited to efficiency, not voltage increase...

Posted:
in iPhone edited September 2018
The initial wave of reviews for the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max are starting to roll in, with them universally finding that Apple's implementation of Qi charging on the new models hasn't increased the power, but has instead improved efficiency of the technology.




When Apple announced the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max, it briefly touched on improved wireless charging, without delving into specifics. An assortment of reviews on Tuesday discussing the phone have found that while it is faster, it isn't an increase in wattage leading to the slightly faster charging.

Nilay Patel from The Verge, and, Matthew Panzarino from TechCrunch both noted the slightly increased speed in charging.

Patel said that in real-world use, the improvements summed up to iPhone XS achieving a full charge roughly 30 minutes faster than the iPhone X. This isn't a life-changing speed increase, but it is certainly beneficial. Plus, no new charger is required to take advantage of the faster speeds.

However, more notable than the very slight speed increase is a slightly more forgiving placement on any charging pad that Apple's refinements have allowed. Apple has apparently implemented greater charging coil movement on the iPhone XS series versus the iPhone 8 and iPhone X, allowing users to not have to be quite as precise placing the iPhone down on the pad.

The improvements in charging efficiency may be from a new coil material. In August, it was rumored that Apple was shifting from a ferrite polymer composite (FPC) to a copper one. At the time it was though that the shift would allow for a higher wattage which hasn't manifested -- but at present it isn't clear what other improvements Apple has made.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 2
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    I continue to chuckle at the terminology used in tech blogs. What, exactly, would be a "life-changing speed increase”? How can charging a device a few minutes faster change my life? Change my life. Take that in for a moment. We’re talking these days about how we’ve become addicted to our mobile devices to the detriment of our social interactions. Is your life really dependent on how fast your device charges? Is your life so full of work and/or stress that you have absolutely no time to allow for charging something? What does it say about us as a culture and society if we can’t wait for our iPhone to charge? Then what about electric cars? How will you handle that life-changing inconvenience? Moses in the reeds people. Slow down.
    Maurizio
  • Reply 2 of 2
    LatkoLatko Posts: 398member
    In my assessment, the innovation index for fancy articulated Appletalk marketing indeed has entered double digit numbers.
    We’re being fed into this wording hypercycle as justification for early adoptership gets more difficult by the year
    edited September 2018
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