Best iPhone chargers: How to pick the right USB-C power adapter

Macworld

If you’ve ordered a new iPhone recently, you’ll notice that the box is a whole lot slimmer than in previous years. That’s because the bulkiest accessory is gone: the power charger. Apple has removed the power adapter from all iPhones it sells, so you need to bring your own.

If you’ve been using Apple’s feeble old 5W adapter, it’s a perfect time to upgrade. Apple now supplies a cable in all iPhone boxes to allow for fast charging, so all you need is the right charger. Here we list our favorite trusted iPhone chargers—many of which do more than the plain Apple-branded charger, and nearly all of which are much smaller.

Lightning or USB-C for iPhone?

When we talk here about USB-C chargers, we mean the port on the charger, not on the iPhone. Starting with the iPhone 15 family, Apple has switched the port on its iPhone from Lightning to USB-C. But iPhones older than the 15 with the Lightning port should still hunt out a charger with a USB-C port as only these offer fast iPhone charging. Older phones will use a USB-C-to-Lightning cable, while the iPhone 15 series will have USB-C at both ends.

Which wattage charger for iPhone?

It’s important to consider the amount of wattage a charger will provide to your device. For years, Apple supplied “good-enough” 5-watt chargers in the iPhone box, which take about 2.5 hours to fill up your iPhone. The newest iPhone models require a charger that can handle 20 watts or greater for fast charging—30W will charge recent iPhones even faster. You can fill up about 50 percent of an iPhone 15 or 16’s battery in about 30 minutes with the right adapter.

The latest iPhones can take in around 30W of power, so aim for that as a minimum for your iPhone charger. Higher wattages mean you could use the charger for your MacBook, too.

Wired and wireless iPhone charging?

From the iPhone 8 on, iPhones have the ability to be charged wirelessly. The iPhone 12 and later also feature Apple’s superior MagSafe wireless charging technology that uses magnets to make the connection with the wireless charging pad more efficient; check out our roundup of the best MagSafe chargers, most of which require one of the USB-C wall chargers tested here.

Magnetic wireless chargers come in different charging speeds: 7.5W for MagSafe compatible, 15W for certified MagSafe and Qi2, and 25W on Apple’s newest MagSafe Charger.

However, charging with a cable plugged into the iPhone will always be faster than wireless as less power is lost than in a wireless connection. Below our chart of the best iPhone chargers we recommend our favored charging cables.

Count the ports

Many adapters offer multiple ports on a single wall charger. If you’re going to be regularly charging more than one device at a time, buy an adapter with at least two ports—some have as many as four ports. You can even get a mix of USB-C and USB-A, depending on your needs.

Plugs: To fold or not to fold

Some chargers have folding pins to protect the adapter as well as other items if you toss it in a bag, but Apple’s 20W charger and a few others have less flexible protruding prongs. It’s a small thing, but it could make a big difference in your travel bag.

As any traveler knows, plugs come in all shapes and sizes around the globe. We’ve tried to cover the most used types here. Some USB-C power adapters even come with different prong sets so you can leave the multi-holed travel adapter at home when you travel.

Best iPhone chargers reviewed






Official Apple iPhone charger: Apple 20W USB-C Power Adapter





















Pros

Official Apple charger

Foldable prongs on U.K. model


Cons

No foldable prongs on U.S./AU models

One port









Price When Reviewed:

$19




Best Prices Today:


$14 at Walmart Electronics$14.99 at Amazon$14.99 at Best Buy






Why we love it: Apple’s 20W USB-C power adapter is as basic as it gets. It’s one of the bulkiest chargers on this list as well as one of the heaviest, It won’t charge a laptop, and you can’t charge more than one device at a time. However, if you want to keep your chargers in the Apple family, it’s a solid option for $19/£19.

In our testing, it won’t charge your phone noticeably faster than the old Apple 18W plug, but it is noticeably cheaper than the model it replaces. We’d like it better if Apple offered a half-price option for iPhone buyers, but even at full price, it’s not a terrible value at all. The U.S. and Australian models don’t feature a folding plug, but the more cube-like U.K. model does, despite the larger plug type, and is a much cleaner design as a result.

While 20W is the minimum for fast charging, we recommend a 30W charger for newer iPhones.







Best single-port iPhone charger: Anker 30W Nano Charger 511





















Pros

Smallest, lightest 30W charger

30W

Foldable plug

Multiple color options


Cons

One port









Price When Reviewed:

$19.99




Best Prices Today:


$16.99 at Walmart Electronics$18.99 at Amazon$19.99 at Anker






Why we love it: Measuring just 1.12 × 1.12 × 1.39 inches (U.S. model), the 30W Anker USB-C Nano 3 Charger 511 is the smallest 30W USB-C charger we’ve had in our labs for testing. It weighs just 1.3oz (36g).

We recommend you buy a 30W charger over 20W as it will charge newer iPhones even faster. The iPhone 15 Pro models will probably fare better with 35W for the fastest iPhone charging, so owners of the very latest iPhones should look at the two-port 40W Anker Nano Pro charger reviewed lower down. Earlier iPhones should be fine with 30W chargers such as this one.

It’s available in a range of pastel colors, including Misty Blue, Lilac Purple, Phantom Black, Aurora White and Natural Green.

The U.K. Anker Nano 3 (511) model is larger and doesn’t feature foldable prongs—so for U.K. buyers, we recommend the equally incredibly light and powerful Anker Nano USB-C Wall Charger (30W), pictured above, that does have foldable prongs.







Ugreen Nexode 30W USB-C GaN Charger





















Pros

Small size

30W

Foldable plug


Cons

One port









Price When Reviewed:

$19.99




Best Prices Today:


$11.99 at Walmart$16.99 at Amazon$19.99 at Ugreen






Why we love it: At 1.26 x 1.26 x 1.57 inches and 48g (U.S. model), the tiny Ugreen Nexode 30W GaN Charger is slightly larger than the similar Anker Nano (reviewed above). To make it even more portable both U.S. and U.K models feature foldable prongs.

That extra power won’t make much difference with many iPhones as 20W is enough for fast charging. But if you have an iPhone Pro or Max, a 30W charger will allow it to charge a little faster (27W), and it certainly won’t hurt to have the added power on other models. At 30W, It could even recharge a 13-inch MacBook Air!

While the 2-Port Nexode 45W Charger, also by Ugreen and reviewed below, gives you two ports, the single port of this charger pumps out a few more watts than either of the two on the 45W dual charger—so if you only have one device to charge, this is the better (and cheaper choice).







Plugable 30W USB-C GaN Charger





















Pros

Small size

30W

Foldable plug

Available in white or black


Cons

One port

North America only









Price When Reviewed:

$19.95




Best Prices Today:


$15.95 at Walmart$19.95 at Amazon$19.95 at B&H






Why we love it: This is another new-generation USB-C charger that measures just 1.22 × 1.26 × 1.37 inches—only marginally larger than the 30W Anker Nano and about the same as the Ugreen Nexode.

It weighs just 45g—although you’ll likely not notice the difference with the 36g Anker Nano or 50g Ugreen Nexode.

Available in either white or black, it’s not available outside of North America.







Budget iPhone charger: Anker PowerPort III 20W Cube Fast Charger





















Pros

Small size

Foldable plug on U.S. model

Available in white or black


Cons

One port

No foldable plug on U.K. model









Price When Reviewed:

$14.99




Best Prices Today:


$12.99 at Amazon$14.99 at Anker






Why we love it: At 1.23 x 1.25 x 1.3 inches, the compact GaN-tech Anker PowerPort III is also pretty tiny and may be found cheaper than the 30W USB-C chargers as it is rated at the lower 20W.

The U.K. model is less flexible due to the size of the U.K. plug and doesn’t allow for foldable prongs, so we prefer the Anker Nano or the even finer Apple 20W Charger in that country only.

However, if you can afford it we recommend you go for a 30W charger if your iPhone is a version 13 or later.







Fastest two-port iPhone charger: Ugreen 2-Port Nexode 45W Charger





















Pros

Two ports

45W

Small size

Foldable plug (U.S. and U.K.)









Price When Reviewed:

$29.99




Best Prices Today:


$29.99 at Amazon$39.99 at Ugreen





Why we love it: The Ugreen Nexode 45W GaN Wall Charger 2-Ports Charger has more ports and power than the Anker 511 Nano Pro, but at 1.57 x 1.57 x 1.93 inches isn’t much larger.

Each USB-C port is rated at 45W, although note that 45W is the maximum total output—you can choose either port to supply it. Using both ports, one will give 25W and the other 20W.

It’s a great compact choice for homes with a couple of iPhones in need of a power boost.







Slimmest two-port iPhone charger: Plugable 40W Dual USB C Charger





















Pros

Two ports

40W

Foldable plug

Slimline


Cons

North America only









Price When Reviewed:

$34.95




Best Prices Today:


$34.95 at Amazon





Why we love it: Measuring 1.7 x 1.9 x 0.9 inches (4.4 x 4.8 x 2.3cm), the Plugable 40W Dual USB C Charger is a dual-port charger that is a little larger in volume than the Ugreen 2-Port Nexode 45W Charger reviewed above, but has a slimmer profile when plugged into a power socket. It’s wider but sticks out of the wall half as far as most chargers.

It’s also lighter than the two-port Ugreen charger: 2.5oz vs 3.46oz (70g vs 98g).

Each USB-C port is rated at 40W (maximum total output is 40W). Using both ports, that 40W is intelligently shared by priority. A 9V or higher device will charge faster than a 5V device, and you can see which devices is charging the fastest with the LED indicating the charge speed: blue for fastest, and green for slow.

The Ugreen beats it on charging speed, but that which means more for 45W Super Fast Charging 2.0 Samsung users than max 30W iPhone users. If you want to use it to charge a MacBook, that extra 5W might be more useful.







Best four-port charger: Minix NEO P3 100W Turbo





















Pros

Four ports

Up to 100W

U.S./U.K./EU pins

Foldable plug


Cons

May be overkill for just a phone









Price When Reviewed:

$65.99




Best Prices Today:


$53.90 at Amazon






Why we love it: The Minix NEO P3 100W Turbo packs a lot of power and has four ports: three USB-C and one old-school USB-A.

Two of the USB-C ports can charge at 100W, although obviously not at the same time. That means you can use this power adapter to charge a laptop as large as the 16-inch MacBook Pro as well as tablets and phones. The third USB-C is perfect for fast iPhone charging at 20W, as is the 18W USB-A port if you have an older charging cable.

Using two ports at the same time it supports one 65W and one 30W feed. Using three supports 45W, 30W, and 20W charges. With all four, it supports, 45W, 30W, and two 7.5W feeds.

Like Apple’s dual-port charger, this adapter features intelligent power allocation, automatically adjusting the power output of each port depending on the devices connected to it.

The U.S. plug folds, making it a tidy package for carrying around, and the U.K. and EU pin converters simply slide onto the U.S. pins to make this a great home charger in those territories and a useful international travel companion.







Best travel adapter charger: OneAdaptr OneWorld 65