There is a lot of confusion surrounding Apple’s new MagSafe charger. Apple claims that the device allows users to charge the new iPhone 12s at speeds of up to 15W, twice the charging speed compared to regular wireless charging on current iPhones. However, recent tests have found that using it with an older iPhone charges it at insanely low speeds of 2W.
However, it turns out that maybe you might need to buy additional accessories to get MagSafe charging at max speeds. According to YouTuber Aaron Zollo of Zollotech, he ran some tests and discovered that if you want the MagSafe charger to charge at the advertised 15W, you will need to buy a 20W charger, one that Apple conveniently sells separately.
Apple has stopped including power adapters with its iPhones claiming it’s for environmental reasons, but it seems that if you want to really take full advantage of the MagSafe charger, you’ll have to shell out an extra $19 to buy the 20W charger. Oddly enough, this only works with the 20W charger that Apple makes.
Zollo tested out MagSafe with other Apple chargers, including the 96W charger that comes with the MacBook Pro and found that oddly enough, it only puts out 10W with MagSafe. He also tested it with third-party chargers like Aukey’s 65W power adapter and that only managed to get 8-9W of power from MagSafe. It is possible that this is a safety feature to prevent overheating or damage, but it does seem a bit strange and also something to think about if you’re considering buying the MagSafe wireless charger.