iPhone 16 Pro offers dramatically faster wireless charging – but there's a catch

Finally, you can get pretty much the same charging speeds whether you’re using a cable to charge your iPhone 16 or a wireless charger — as long as you’re using the right one. 

Also: iPhone 16 Pro hands-on: My 3 favorite things about this ridiculously overpowered supercomputer

When it comes to wired charging, Apple has been using the “50% charge in around 30 minutes” metric for years — since rolling out the iPhone 8 in the fall of 2017 — and things haven’t changed with the iPhone 16 line. But wireless charging has come a long way since, going from 7.5W for the earlier Qi-compatible iPhones to 15W for Qi2-compatible handsets, which includes all models since the iPhone 12. 

On Monday, Apple announced the new iPhone 16 lineup, with some charging updates. The new MagSafe standard now supports up to 25W charging, offering a 40% boost over the earlier standard, but with some caveats. 

To reap the benefits of the upgrade, you’ll need a new MagSafe wireless charger, which must be connected to a 30W or greater USB-C charger.

Also: iPhone 16 Pro vs. iPhone 14 Pro: Is it worth an upgrade?

But it’s not cheap. The new MagSafe charger costs $39 ($49 if you want the version with the 2-meter cable). Yes, you read that right: $10 more for a meter of USB-C cable. A compatible USB-C charger starts at about $15, putting your total at at least $54. 

The Qi2 standard was developed by the Wireless Power Consortium, of which Apple is a major player. Since Qi2 is so similar to MagSafe in that it uses the same charging speeds and neodymium magnets for aligning the wireless charging head, we expected Apple would stick with Qi2 for the iPhone 16.

Also: My favorite MagSafe battery pack supports Qi2 charging and isn’t Anker or Baseus

However, the company decided to do one better. After all, not only is Qi2 hardware cheaper than the eMagSafe hardware Apple sells, but Apple doesn’t get a cut from the sales of third-party hardware.

The new MagSafe charger is compatible with earlier iPhones, but charging will default to the earlier 15W limit. According to Apple, this configuration will give users a 50% charge in around 30 minutes, making wired and wireless charging about the same.

Is a wireless power boost worth that price tag to you? That’s for you to decide!