iPhone 15 charging speed may be faster than we assumed — but there’s bad news

Apple iPhone 15 held in the hand. — (Image credit: Future)

Apple isn’t always very forthcoming when it comes to iPhone specs, and the iPhone 15 is no exception. Officially speaking, the company has only revealed how fast the new phones will charge using a 20W USB-C charging brick — 50% in half an hour. But like the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro before it, that may be only part of the story.

According to Mac Otakara, the iPhone 15 is unofficially able to charge at speeds up to 27W. While that’s a far cry from the 35W speeds that were rumored pre-launch, it’s the same charging speeds that the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro were technically capable of. Not that Apple has ever confirmed this.

Reaching those speeds will naturally require you to have a suitable charger. Since the iPhone 15 doesn’t come with a charging brick, it means you’ll have to go out and buy one. Apple would rather you pick up an official charger, for obvious reasons, though that isn’t necessary — especially since the Made for iPhone program doesn’t seem to be throttling uncertified charging speeds this year.

But we have also warned against buying the cheapest charger possible, since knock-off USB-C chargers can pose a very real risk to you and your phone.

If you would rather go first party, a 20W Apple USB-C adapter will set you back $19. If you want to get that full 27W, you’ll need one of Apple’s 30W USB power adapters — which will set you back $39. That’s more than double the price, and at this early stage we still don’t know how much of an impact it will make on charging time.

It would be great if Apple just came out and told us what the deal was, but it seems we won’t know the full extent of the iPhone 15’s charging capabilities until we can do some real world testing. But hey, while 27W isn’t the upgrade many will have been hoping for, it is still better than some of Apple’s rivals — especially since Mac Otakara claims this isn’t a Pro-exclusive feature.

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Tom is the Tom's Guide's UK Phones Editor, tackling the latest smartphone news and vocally expressing his opinions about upcoming features or changes. It's long way from his days as editor of Gizmodo UK, when pretty much everything was on the table. He’s usually found trying to squeeze another giant Lego set onto the shelf, draining very large cups of coffee, or complaining about how terrible his Smart TV is.