MagSafe Charges 2x Slower Than Wired 20W USB-C Charger - MacRumors
Skip to Content

MagSafe Charges 2x Slower Than Wired 20W USB-C Charger

Apple's MagSafe charger charges over two-times slower than a wired 20W USB-C charger, according to a new iPhone 12 video review from the Wall Street Journal's Joanna Stern.

magsafe 50 percent slower

Screencap from video review

The review of the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro was generally critical of Apple's ‌MagSafe‌ technology, explaining that the idea seems to be better in theory than in practice.

Although Stern found that the ‌MagSafe‌ charger charged the iPhone 12 faster than a traditional 7.5W Qi wireless charger, it was still slower than plugging directly into a 20W charger. The 20W charger charged an empty iPhone to 50% in only 28 minutes, while the ‌MagSafe‌ took 1 hour.

The full video review covers other aspects of the new iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro:

The review was also critical of the fact that the combined cost of the ‌MagSafe‌ charger and a 20W power adapter was $58 combined, and that the ‌MagSafe‌ charger's cable is less than a yard in length.

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

iOS 26

iOS 26.4 Adds Two New Features to CarPlay

Tuesday March 24, 2026 1:55 pm PDT by
iOS 26.4 was released today, and it includes a couple of new features for CarPlay: an Ambient Music widget and support for voice-based chatbot apps. To update your iPhone 11 or newer to iOS 26.4, open the Settings app and tap on General → Software Update. CarPlay will automatically offer the new features so long as the iPhone connected to your vehicle is running iOS 26.4 or later....
Apple Business hero

Apple Unveils 'Apple Business' All-in-One Platform

Tuesday March 24, 2026 8:53 am PDT by
Apple today announced Apple Business, a new all-in-one platform that unifies device management, productivity tools, and customer outreach features. The service is designed to be a consolidated replacement for several of Apple's existing business-focused offerings, including Apple Business Essentials, Apple Business Manager, and Apple Business Connect. It provides organizations with a single...
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 3, AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4

Tuesday March 24, 2026 12:31 pm PDT by
Apple today released new firmware for the AirPods Pro 2, AirPods Pro 3, and the AirPods 4. The firmware has a version number of 8B39, up from 8B34 on the AirPods Pro 3, 8B28 on the AirPods Pro 2, and 8B21 on the AirPods 4. There is no word on what's included in the firmware, but Apple has a support document with limited notes. Most updates are limited to bug fixes and performance...

Top Rated Comments

lestmak Avatar
71 months ago
Umm, no surprise there.... 20W wired vs 15W MagSafe vs 7.5W Qi. What would one expect?
Score: 60 Votes (Like | Disagree)
71 months ago
Induction charging has always been slower than a direct connection. MagSafe should be no different.

Personally I see no inconvenience in wired charging for half an hour.
Score: 48 Votes (Like | Disagree)
71 months ago
2x slower is a really bad way of saying 'half the speed'
Score: 43 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mutepointer Avatar
71 months ago
No one should be shocked by this non story.
Score: 43 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Kylo83 Avatar
71 months ago
ive said its just a gimmick and pointless
Score: 30 Votes (Like | Disagree)
luccalabs Avatar
71 months ago
Well no ****. Induction charging is also terrible for the environment comparably. I believe in the best tests they got 30-40% more energy being used.
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)