iPhone Charging Times

• A rechargeable lithium-ion battery provides power for your iPhone.
• Over the years, iPhone models have included higher-capacity batteries, which take longer to charge.
• You can charge your iPhone with just about any power adapter because its power IC will regulate supplied current.
• iPhone charging times are estimations, as they depend on many variables, including battery health, current charge level, temperature, and other factors.
• The most popular iPhone power adapters are 5W and 20W chargers sold and distributed by Apple.

iPhone Charging Times: Introduction

You’re probably reading this article because you want to know how long it will take to charge your iPhone. You came to the right place, but you might not like the answer.

iPhone Charging Times Vary

No one can provide an exact figure for how long it will take to charge any iPhone with a specific charger. This is because iPhone charging times depend on a variety of factors. For example, turning off your iPhone when charging will get you to 100% faster, with less heat, which is better for the battery. I recommend this practice, but it’s not ideal if you’re expecting an important call or message.

If you’re charging your iPhone in a warm environment, it will take longer than at room temperature. Playing a game or watching a movie on your iPhone while charging? That will charge your iPhone slowly and generate palpable heat. You may even be able to warm up a Hot Pocket with your iPhone while you’re gaming and charging.

Methodology

The data in this article are derived from observations and calculations. We tracked charging times for various iPhone models with different chargers and applied this to all other iPhones. We got some friends and family to test some of these derived charging times, and they’re all accurate within +/- 10%.

Since 5W and 20W chargers are the most popular, we include timings for these only. We also track how long a particular iPhone will take to charge when it’s powered on or off. Of course, if you’re doing something on your iPhone while charging, it will take longer to reach 100%, and we cannot predict how long this will take. When we track charging times for powered-on iPhones, we leave them idle with locked screens.

I activated the Always-On Display on my new iPhone 14 Pro Max because most people will do this. That’s partly why I paid the big bucks. That, and the amazing Dynamic Island!

Don’t Charge With MagSafe

This article doesn’t provide any information about MagSafe charging because I don’t recommend it. MagSafe charging is slower and generates more heat. Furthermore, it’s not even wireless because a MagSafe charger is plugged in.

The only benefit of MagSafe is that it frees the Lightning port on your iPhone for something else. But, ideally, you shouldn’t use your iPhone while charging because it generates heat which will shorten your battery’s lifespan. If you’re using your iPhone for a DJ set while it rests on a MagSafe charger, get used to replacing your battery or smartphone every six months. This doesn’t apply to most people. Of course, such a rad DJ would have plenty of cash to buy a new iPhone every six months.

I’ve been working in technology and consuming it for decades. All of the gimmicks have come and gone. MagSafe is a gimmick to sell expensive accessories. The battery packs may be helpful. When your internal battery is shot from all that MagSafe charging, you can use a MagSafe battery pack to enjoy a full day’s battery life.

We Recommend Official Apple Chargers

The easiest and best way to charge your iPhone is to use one of Apple’s chargers. If you have an iPhone 8 or later, you can plug it into a high-power charger, and the power IC will regulate charging. I charge my iPhone 14 Pro Max with a 96W Apple power adapter left over from a broken MacBook Pro. (Yes, MacBooks of a certain era break quite easily. I don’t recommend them.) It charges as fast as a 20W charger, which I use when traveling.

If you want your battery to live long, use an old 5W Apple charger and turn off your iPhone when charging. It may take a few hours to reach 100%, but you’ll notice your iPhone is cool to the touch through the whole process. Charging like this is miserly, but it will keep Battery Health statistics like Maximum Capacity at 100% for longer. Personally, I get a new iPhone every year, so I often charge it with a 20W charger while it’s in use.

iPhone Charging Times

The following tables reflect charging times for popular iPhone models. The times are both actual and derived. We took the iPhone models we could test directly, extrapolated their charging rates, and applied it to the other models based on battery capacity. The times are rounded up to the nearest five minutes.

Why We Round Up Charging Times

We always round up the time because it’s better to err on the side of “overcharging” than undercharging for some purposes. For example, if you’re calibrating your iPhone’s battery, it’s best to ensure it’s charged to 100% by leaving it connected to the power adapter a little longer.

You Can’t Overcharge an iPhone

The term “overcharging” is misleading. It’s impossible to overcharge an iPhone because the power IC in virtually all smartphones regulates current. It’s not ideal to leave your iPhone plugged into a charger for too long because the battery is under more stress at 100%.

When you leave your iPhone plugged into a charger after it reaches 100%, the charger stops supplying current. Before its battery level declines to 99%, it resumes charging. Thus, you cannot overcharge your iPhone. But it’s still not ideal to leave it at 100% for long periods of time.

Charging Times Useful to Prevent Battery Stress

You should be aware of charging times so you don’t leave your iPhone plugged into the charger too long. It’s best to disconnect your iPhone shortly after it reaches 100%. This enables the battery to discharge and return to a more stable state.

If you like to charge your iPhone to 80%, you can figure out that time based on our information. We’ll also provide this data with a future update.

Charging Times Useful for Battery Calibration

There are many practical applications for iPhone battery charging times. If you calibrate your iPhone’s battery, you want to charge it from 0% to 100% and do a soft reset. This chart will help estimate charging times.

This article is an appendix for our popular web page, “How to Calibrate Your iPhone’s Battery.” With over two million page views, it’s been copied and mutated into various myths. One site took our article, added more (unnecessary) steps to it, and they now rank higher on Google.

Unfortunately, if you follow their guide, your iPhone’s battery will wear out prematurely because the steps they added to rank higher are detrimental to battery health. They’ll have you use up two charging cycles for every calibration attempt. With our guide, you won’t even use up one. An iPhone has about 500 charging cycles before its battery health deteriorates and no longer holds a full day’s charge.

Charging Times Help You Stop Checking Your iPhone

This guide’s most useful application is knowing when your iPhone will be fully charged. You won’t need to keep checking it. If you’re planning a night out, you’ll know you need to plug in your iPhone a few hours before leaving. If you forget, you can always charge it faster by shutting it down.

Now that you know the importance of this information, let’s look at charging times for different iPhone models, starting with the newest ones first: