Apple begins selling 18W USB-C power adapter separately for iPhones & iPads
Apple on Wednesday launched a standalone option for its 18-watt USB-C power adapter, enabling fast charging for the iPhone 8, iPhone X, iPhone XR, and iPhone XS.
The U.S. version of the adapter costs $29. Buyers will, however, have to supply their own charging cable. There are also various international editions, such as the British one, which sports a unique folding prong mechanism.
The adapter is the same one bundled with 2018 iPad Pros. The ability to buy the product separately has been an ongoing demand, especially given the growing standardization of USB-C in and outside of the Apple ecosystem. For people already invested in the technology, it may allow them to reduce cable clutter or swap in a substitute cable as needed.
iPhones supporting fast charging include the 8, 8 Plus, X, XS, XS Max, and XR.
At the moment, Apple is the only company allowed to produce USB-C-to-Lightning cables. That could finally change this February.
The U.S. version of the adapter costs $29. Buyers will, however, have to supply their own charging cable. There are also various international editions, such as the British one, which sports a unique folding prong mechanism.
The adapter is the same one bundled with 2018 iPad Pros. The ability to buy the product separately has been an ongoing demand, especially given the growing standardization of USB-C in and outside of the Apple ecosystem. For people already invested in the technology, it may allow them to reduce cable clutter or swap in a substitute cable as needed.
iPhones supporting fast charging include the 8, 8 Plus, X, XS, XS Max, and XR.
At the moment, Apple is the only company allowed to produce USB-C-to-Lightning cables. That could finally change this February.
Comments
It's a balancing act. So far I see no reason to believe Apple isn't doing it right. Certainly not because of what knockoff cheerleaders on techie sites say...
What cables or chargers they might already have is basically irrelevant unless they want an even bigger collection of 5W chargers.
Let's be frank. This is just another example of Apple making even more money off yet another accessory.
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208137
For a company that claims ‘USB C is the future,’ they have been remarkable slow to switch things over.
”Fast charging” is just a vacuous name companies and media use to say that this or that device can draw more power than the traditional USBA specification of 5 W (5V at 1A). Charging bricks have to be able to supply that right amps and volts to support whatever the device expects. In the case of the 18 W and 29 W, etc, USBC charging bricks, they have multiple output power that they can deliver. 5.2V x 2.4A = 12.5 W will be one of them, and that is what modern iPhones will use. iPads and Macs will use the higher output levels from Apple’s charging bricks, that correspond to the max draw of those devices.
Ie, an iPad won’t be drawing 60 W from Apple’s bigger charging bricks, just whatever the max an iPad can take, which is probably 18W for 2018 iPad Pros.
I’ve only ever seen 8 and X models support 12.5W. If they support 18W, you could charge a 10.5 WHr X battery in 45 minutes, or get to 50% in 20 minutes. That’s definitely testable. I would bet a lot this 18W charger outputs 5.2V x 2.4A and that is what iPhones use, while only 2018 iPad Pros and probably the MacBooks can draw 18W.