Apple quietly issues surprise upgrade for some iPhones with a secret free battery charging boost – check yours now
A LOAD of iPhones have quietly received an unexpected free upgrade that’s a big boost for their battery.
Apple issued its latest iOS update earlier this week with the usual bug fixes but experts have discovered that some iPhone models gained another bonus perk.
The rather secret upgrade wasn’t mentioned in the release notes from Apple when iOS 17.4 came out.
But owners have discovered they can now charge their iPhone wirelessly much faster than before with even more cables.
These charging pads were always compatible but were stuck in the slow lane compared to Apple approved ones.
The unannounced change benefits iPhone 12 models.
This includes:
- iPhone 12
- iPhone 12 Mini
- iPhone 12 Pro
- iPhone 12 Pro Max
Before today, the fastest possible way to wirelessly charge on an iPhone 12 was using a charging pad with MagSafe certification.
But since the update was released it appears iPhone 12 handsets now support the wider magnetic charging tech, known as Qi2.
This means you can use a bigger range of charging pads – ie those not made by Apple – and get the fastest wireless charge possible.
In technical terms, you can now charge at up to 15W with a third-party charging pad, double what you could achieve before at snail’s pace of 7.5W.
Tests carried out by Macworld showed that the 15W-only charging animation showed up when they attached a Qi2 pad.
Reporters used an official Apple MagSafe Charger on an iPhone 12 Pro Max with no battery left, which got to 30 per cent in 38 minutes and 50 per cent in 70 minutes.
They then repeated the test with an Anker Qi2 MagGo Wireless, which would have previously charged slowly.
But results showed that speeds pretty much matched the Apple approved pad, with the iPhone 12 Pro Max gaining 30 per cent of power in 33 minutes and 50 per cent in 64 minutes.
MagSafe was introduced to iPhone back in 2020 when the 12 range was launched.
iPhone 13 and iPhone 14 models started working faster with Qi2 chargers after the iOS 17.2 rolled out at the end of December.
The iPhone 15 was the first to enable it from the day of its release.
iPhone tricks to try today
Here are some of the best...
- Typing cursor – When typing, hold down the space bar to turn your keyboard into a trackpad, letting you move around words and sentences more easily
- Close all Safari tabs – To do this in one go, simply hold the overlapped squares in the bottom right-hand corner, and press close all tabs
- Delete lots of photos quickly – Hold down on a photo and then drag your finger diagonally in Photos to select lots of images at once, then hit delete
- Convert currency quickly – Swipe down from the top of your Home screen (or swipe left to right on an iPhone X or later model), then tap in the bar and type a currency (like $200) and it will automatically covert to your local currency
- Check if you’re due a battery upgrade – Batteries inside smartphones degrade over time. Just go to Settings > Battery > Battery Health, and check out the Maximum Capacity reading. Generally a battery is considered worn when you’re down to 80% capacity. If you’re below, you can buy a battery swap from Apple
- Move apps around faster – Hold an app until it starts wiggling, then (while still holding) tap other apps, causing them to stack so you can move them around easier