Irked by the iPhone 13’s SLOW charging speeds? Fear not, there is a way to fast charge the iPhone 13 – here’s how it is done…
Key Takeaways: Fast Charging the iPhone 13
- Speeding Up Charging: The iPhone 13’s charging speed can be enhanced with the right equipment and a plug socket.
- 20W Fast Charging: To utilize the iPhone 13’s 20W fast charging capability, a separate 20W USB-C Power Adapter purchase is required.
- Adapter Recommendations: There are affordable and efficient 20W USB-C Power Adapters available in the market. We recommend this one.
- MacBook Compatibility: Newer M1 MacBook or MacBook Pro power bricks can be used to charge the iPhone 13 with similar fast-charging results.
- Charging Limitation: Regardless of the USB-C Power Adapter used, the iPhone 13’s charging capacity is capped at 20W.
One of the first things I noticed about my iPhone 13 when I started using it was how slowly it charged up. I haven’t used an iPhone in years, having been pretty much exclusively an Android user since 2015, but I was pretty unimpressed that Apple, unlike most Android brands, has not really invested in fast charging for its phones.
With the iPhone 13, the phone’s battery life is very solid, so having to constantly charge your phone isn’t an issue. It will make it through a full day with heavy usage with relative ease. But with Apple’s smaller iPhone 13 Mini or, worse still, the criminally underpowered iPhone 12 mini, including fast charge would have made the phones a lot better.
How Fast Does iPhone 13 Charge?
Out of the box, the iPhone 13 is very slow at charging up. From 0% battery life to 100%, you’re looking at a solid 90 minutes. And that, by 2023’s standards, is pitiful.
The cable you get with the iPhone 13 is rated for up to 20W but you’ll need a power adapter (and Apple no longer includes one of these in the box) to fully harness these charging speeds.
If you’re using a standard USB plug to connect the iPhone 13’s ironically named Lightning cable to the mains then you’ll be limited to a measly 5W of power. This is what I’ve been doing and, let me tell you, it is PAINFULLY slow, especially when you’re used to 65W charging speeds.
How To FAST CHARGE The iPhone 13
But you can speed up the iPhone 13’s charging speeds if you wish; all it takes is some additional gear and a plug socket. Unfortunately, in order to harness the iPhone 13’s still-relatively-slow 20W fast charging speeds, you will need to go out and buy a 20W USB-C Power Adapter. I use this one; it’s relatively cheap and it gets the job done with minimal fuss.
Similarly, if you’re using a newer M1 MacBook or MacBook Pro, you can use its power brick to charge your iPhone 13 and get similar results. Whatever USB-C Power Adapter you use, however, you WILL be limited to 20W of charging power – that’s all Apple’s iPhone 13 can handle right now.
The upshot of using a USB-C Power Adapter is that you can get ones that supports two charging ports, so you can charge two phones – or your iPhone 13 and your AirPods – at the same time.
I didn’t bother with one of these, however, as I only have one Apple product to charge at the moment. I ditched my Apple Watch for the Withings ScanWatch a few months back. And I never touch AirPods.
Should You Buy A USB-C Power Adapter for your iPhone 13?
Is it worth buying a USB-C Power Adapter for your iPhone 13? I’d argue, yes. If you’re a heavy iPhone user, you’ll often find yourself having to charge up the iPhone 13 during the latter part of the day.
It doesn’t happen often but when it does, trust me, you’ll want to be charging with 20W, not 5W – it is miles faster and ensures you’re not always waiting around for your phone to charge.
And they’re not exactly expensive, either.
If you’re using an iPhone 12 mini or the iPhone 13 Mini, a USB-C Power Adapter is an essential bit of kit. The battery life on these iPhones is terrible, so you’ll want all the charging speeds you can get your hands on which, sadly, is only 20W but 20W is still way better than 5W, so my advice would be to GET ONE TODAY.
The iPhone 13’s 20W charging is still painfully slow compared to what you get on some Android phones. My old phone, a cheap RealMe GT had 65W wired charging. It took literally 15 minutes to charge from 20% to 100%. With the iPhone 13’s 20W charger, you’re looking at triple that amount of time to do the same.
Why Doesn’t Apple Allow Properly Fast Charging?
As with most things related to Apple products, there is never an answer – they are just the way they are because that’s the way they are. You, the end-user, just have to deal with it until Apple sees fit to fix it or update it. With charging speeds for the iPhone 15, leaks suggest that Apple is looking at improving things ever so slightly by adding in support for 30W wired charging.
30W charging on the iPhone 15 would be an improvement over what we currently have on the iPhone 13, of course, but in the grand scheme of things, in a world where Android phones now do 120W charging, it still feels a little pathetic.
I mean, why the hell can’t Apple just fix this once and for all? It has the money, the resources, and plenty of users that’d kill to get 100W fast charging on their iPhones.
Apple probably thinks its batteries are now so good that you don’t actually need fast charging, as most iPhones will make it through an entire day on a single charge. In most cases, this sentiment is correct. But if you’re using an iPhone 12 mini or an iPhone 13 mini, this just simply is NOT the case – the battery life SUCKS on Apple’s Mini iPhones.
You will need to recharge your phone mid-way through the day. And in these instances, it’d be much nicer if you actually had fast charging at your disposal.
iPhone 13 Resource Hub 📚
Here’s some of our most helpful content related to the iPhone 13. If you’re looking to buy one, the in-depth guides and reviews below should help:
