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Apple Is Quietly Giving Your iPhone a New Charging Feature

And no, it won’t cost you a thing.

A smartphone mounted horizontally on a kitchen wall outlet displaying a clock and weather information showing 77°F and mostly sunny in Atlantic Highlands. The background includes white tiled walls, a wooden dish rack on the left, and a black kitchen appliance on the right.Photo by Tucker Bowe for Gear Patrol

By Tucker Bowe

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Your iPhone is about to get several neat charging features when iOS 26 rolls out in a few weeks’ time.

One of the most useful is Charge Time Estimates. When you start charging your iPhone, whether wired or wirelessly, your iPhone will calculate how long it will take to reach 80% and display this information on your Lock Screen.

Additionally, iOS 26 overhauls the Battery section of your iPhone’s Settings app. There are new graphics that can indicate if certain apps are draining your iPhone’s battery faster than normal. Also, a new Adaptive Power mode will help extend your iPhone’s battery life.

And finally, although it hasn’t been officially announced by Apple, it’s been uncovered that the entire iPhone 16 lineup is getting another neat charging feature. Specifically, faster wireless charging.

No MagSafe? No problem

Wooden bedside table with a modern cylindrical lamp featuring a light beige fabric shade. On the table, there is a black multi-device charging stand holding a smartphone displaying the time 9:41, a smartwatch, and wireless earbuds. A wooden decorative bowl with a natural scrub brush is also on the table. The bed next to the table has a beige textured pillow and a light-colored quilted blanket.
With support for Qi2 25W, you won’t need a certified MagSafe charger to get the fastest wireless charging speeds.
Belkin

To date, the newest iPhone 16 models (specifically the Pros) have been able to wirelessly charge at up to 25 watts, which is faster than any previous iPhones. However, this requires the use of a MagSafe charger and a compatible 30-watt (or greater) adapter.

With iOS 26, MacRumors has reported that Apple is going to upgrade the entire iPhone 16 line — except the iPhone 16e — with support for the new Qi2 25W standard. This will allow the iPhone 16 line to wirelessly charge at up to 25 watts when using a compatible Qi2 25W charger or a MagSafe charger.

Previously, when paired with a non-MagSafe charger, iPhones were limited to 15-watt wireless charging speeds.

Of course, the new Qi2 25W standard was just announced in the last several weeks and, at the time of writing, there are only a few wireless chargers that support it — and Belkin recently released three of them.

A clean white desk by a window with sunlight streaming in, featuring a silver laptop with a purple and pink screen, a white mug, a small potted succulent plant, a white desk lamp, and a white multi-device charging stand holding a smartphone, a smartwatch, and wireless earbuds.
Unfortunately, you’ll need an iPhone 16 or iPhone 17 to get these “up to 25 watt” speeds.
Belkin

The good news is that if you have an iPhone 16 — or if you get a new iPhone 17 when it launches in a few weeks’ time — there will be more options to wirelessly charge your iPhone at its fastest possible speed. You’ll still be able to use a MagSafe-certified charger, of course, but they tend to be more expensive.

If you have an iPhone 15 or older, unfortunately, your iPhone will be limited to slower wireless charging speeds. They’ll continue to max out at 15 watts when using a MagSafe charger.

As of today, Apple has officially announced that its iPhone 17 event will take place on Tuesday, September 9th. You can expect iOS 26 to roll out in the days that follow.

About the Author:

Tucker Bowe has been on Gear Patrol’s editorial team since 2014. As a Tech Staff Writer, he tracks everything in the consumer tech space, from headphones to smartphones, wearables to home theater systems. If it lights up or makes noise, he probably covers it.

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