Talking about Samsung’s Galaxy S24 plans, a leaker dropped an exciting iPhone 15 battery gem a few days ago. The iPhone 15 phones coming later this year will reportedly feature stacked batteries, a feature that Samsung is struggling to offer on its Galaxy S24 lineup in 2024.
Stacked batteries are widely used in electric cars, allowing manufacturers to create more efficient batteries. Stacked batteries are more compact but offer more energy density than rolled batteries. They also dissipate heat better, which improves long-term battery health.
Another benefit of stacked batteries is support for faster charging, a feature that EVs desperately need. And the iPhone 15 might offer a significant bump in charging speeds, according to the same leaker.
I use my MacBook charger with the iPhone 14 Pro because of the unofficial charging speeds Apple supports on its iPhones. In theory, the iPhones are capped at 20W. But tests have shown you can reach between 27W and 29W speeds on iPhone 14.
The iPhone 14 Pro has also changed the way I recharge the handset. I no longer recharge it overnight, especially considering the extra bump in charging speed. And my battery health is still at 100% after nearly a year.
Still, the iPhone’s charging speeds are much slower than Android handsets. Some vendors have really pushed the envelope here, topping 200W charging speeds. One of the problems with such speeds concern battery health, although some vendors will downplay these concerns.
Apple is likely cautious about increasing the charging speed. Not even Samsung dares to go beyond 45W on its flagship handsets.
Leaker RGcloudS speculated on Twitter that the Galaxy S24 phones might get 65W charging speeds thanks in part to stacked batteries like the iPhone 15 models will get.
In a reply to that conversation, the leaker said they expect support for 40W wired charging and 20W MagSafe charging speeds on future iPhones. But they’re unsure whether the iPhone 15 or iPhone 16 will get the speed charging bump.
He mentioned a new charging protocol and power chip as reasons why Apple would bump charging speeds on iPhone. Again, the context was stacked batteries, which would make fast charging more efficient. That’s to say that USB-C support alone isn’t enough for Apple to bump the iPhone’s charging rate. However, USB-C will certainly help with that.
That 40W speed might not seem like much compared to some Android vendors. But it’s double the current official quote for wired charging. The current iPhones need 30-35 minutes to get to 50% with a 20W. That’s pretty decent, in my view. Going to 40W could get us to 50% even faster.
As for MagSafe charging, a speed of 20W would match what’s currently available from wired charging on iPhone. MagSafe chargers can recharge the iPhone 14 series at 15W.
