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iPhone 12 Pro Is using MagSafe at 15w each day worse for battery health compared to QI
- Thread starter chillip
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It's probably a similar difference as comparing charging a phone with a cable using a 5w charging brick vs a fast charger. You'll get a lot of anecdotal responses and opinions whether it has a noticeable impact on battery health over the life of a phone.
Also wireless charging can potentially generate more heat which is supposed to be worse on a battery.
My experience on my 2 year XS max where I've only ever charged it using QI and wired fast charging and now the battery health just got to 90%.
The MagSafe could possibly produce more heat (though it doesn't charge at a constant 15w). Whether that has a noticeable impact I'm not sure but based on my past charging experience I'm not going to worry about it and charge however it's most convenient.
Also wireless charging can potentially generate more heat which is supposed to be worse on a battery.
My experience on my 2 year XS max where I've only ever charged it using QI and wired fast charging and now the battery health just got to 90%.
The MagSafe could possibly produce more heat (though it doesn't charge at a constant 15w). Whether that has a noticeable impact I'm not sure but based on my past charging experience I'm not going to worry about it and charge however it's most convenient.
If you are going to keep your phone for more than a year and aren’t interested in paying Apple for a battery replacement, charging with MagSafe will wear your battery faster than using a 5w brick or a 7.5w Qi charger.
Wireless charging in general generates more heat, if it's true that more heat = more battery wear, than yes, it is worse.
I did notice on my last years iPhone 11 PM, the battery health dropped faster than any iPhone before that and I only used wireless charging. But this might be just a coincidence.
But on the other hand, laptop batteries charge at 60w+ and get very hot with no apparent issues.
I did notice on my last years iPhone 11 PM, the battery health dropped faster than any iPhone before that and I only used wireless charging. But this might be just a coincidence.
But on the other hand, laptop batteries charge at 60w+ and get very hot with no apparent issues.
The way I see it - if you have AppleCare and using MagSafe, you're kinda hoping for the battery to die out badly by the end of 2 years. The only way you lose if you end up around the low 80s on battery health by the time everything expires.
I find myself more willing to gamble on the battery health and doing something more routine like battery replacement, then something worse like the lightning port getting damaged and having a hard time charging (already done that twice).
I find myself more willing to gamble on the battery health and doing something more routine like battery replacement, then something worse like the lightning port getting damaged and having a hard time charging (already done that twice).
Lower charge rate does not necessarily mean easier on the battery. Every battery can accept a charge current that isn't detrimental yet not miniscule. Charging at a rate lower than "ideal" only accomplishes one thing — wasted time.
Whether the MagSafe charger is slightly detrimental to the battery — only Aplle engineers know
Whether the MagSafe charger is slightly detrimental to the battery — only Aplle engineers know
Yet the amount of additional wear we can only guess. Battery life doesn’t degrade proportionally with the charge going into the device.
That is true. Personally, I think too many people here obsess over battery due to resale value concerns.
It’s not even significant enough wear though that’s what people don’t get.
It’s perfectly fine to use MagSafe and a 20w. Like others have said it doesn’t charge at a constant wattage.
Sure that can all be fact, but would most people experience much difference over the time they own a phone? That’s the better question.
I’ve wirelessly charged an XS Max wirelessly daily for just over 2 years. Battery health is at 90%. My kids have phones of a similar age only charged using cables, similar battery health.
What I can say from personal experience, my devices' batteries don't wear out that fast. My 15 months old 11 is at 98%. And I have always gotten similar results since Apple introduced Battery Health stat. I almost exclusively charge it via 5W charger, but if a fast charge is needed, I charge it with my 10W iPad charger. I don't use my phone much when charging either.
The opposite happened with my MacBook. Around 1 year later it already was down to 90%. And what I realized then is that I use my MacBook almost exlucisvely all the time when charging, randomly it just sits down when being charged.
My guess is the worst for the battery is heat and so I guess wireless charging and using you phone during charging in general would have the worst impact. And of course there will be a difference between a 20-30W and 5W charge in heat too. That is why I like the old 10W iPad charger. Much faster than 5W and perfect for me but not as fast as a 20-30W charger which I rarely need anyway. I have a new 20W charger here, just in case I really need fast charging, but otherwise 5W and 10W charger is perfect. And don't use your iPhone very often while charging.
The opposite happened with my MacBook. Around 1 year later it already was down to 90%. And what I realized then is that I use my MacBook almost exlucisvely all the time when charging, randomly it just sits down when being charged.
My guess is the worst for the battery is heat and so I guess wireless charging and using you phone during charging in general would have the worst impact. And of course there will be a difference between a 20-30W and 5W charge in heat too. That is why I like the old 10W iPad charger. Much faster than 5W and perfect for me but not as fast as a 20-30W charger which I rarely need anyway. I have a new 20W charger here, just in case I really need fast charging, but otherwise 5W and 10W charger is perfect. And don't use your iPhone very often while charging.
I don't believe that but even if true, irrelevant. Only matters once the battery reaches 100% and is continuing to be used while on the charger. Who does that?
You’re right. I was wrong, my information has since been disproven after looking it up again.
But you’re showing your age saying, “omg, who does that”. It isn’t wise to assume everyone does things the way you do. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to think people use their phone on the charger after it’s charged. Maybe they want it to be at 100% when they take it off?
I must be the exception. My iPhone Xs was on a wireless charger for over two years slightly, and my battery percentage was at 97% when I sold it when the iPhone 12 came out.
I use a 7.5w QI charger for my iPhone mini. I don’t believe i will see a health drain of 10% a year from that, seeing how that is not a big increase in watts from the traditional power brick. The phone doesn’t get very warm at all and I remove it as soon as it hits 100%.
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Launch day XS Max charged every night on a wireless charger. Looks like I lost about 4.5% each year, not nearly 10% per year:
More than three years of random charging with wireless, 12 and 30w chargers leaves me with 87%. Should be way below 70% with your formula but certainly goes to show how good battery tech has become.
Sorry for the bump but I found this thread via a google search.
I’ve never charged via lightning and have only used MagSafe on my iPhone 13 Pro Max since my purchase last November. I’ve just notice that my battery health is 95%. To say I’m a bit disappointed is an understatement. I might ditch MagSafe altogether now if it’s going to chew away at the health like this.
My phone rarely gets below 20% and I hardly use it while it’s charging.
I’ve never charged via lightning and have only used MagSafe on my iPhone 13 Pro Max since my purchase last November. I’ve just notice that my battery health is 95%. To say I’m a bit disappointed is an understatement. I might ditch MagSafe altogether now if it’s going to chew away at the health like this.
My phone rarely gets below 20% and I hardly use it while it’s charging.
95% health after almost a year isn’t bad at all. Doubt the wireless charging accelerated that. My launch day 13 pro max was at 91% and I rarely charged it wirelessly. Batteries just degrade with use. The battery health has more to do with how many charge cycles have been done on a battery. If you use the phone a lot and requires charging you just can’t get around that it will begin to degrade.