Apple has taken the wraps off the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max, four new premium smartphones ranging in price from £799 to £1,599. They have tweaked designs, new colours, and – after a software update not arriving till December – will run Apple Intelligence, Apple’s big foray into AI that includes a much more helpful Siri voice assistant.
Despite the wait for those features, the iPhone 16 lineup goes on sale on Friday 13 September. You may well be tempted to upgrade your current smartphone to one of these new devices if you would benefit from improved cameras, regular software updates, better battery life or simply a new look and feel.
One upgrade Apple kept quiet about when announcing the new iPhone is to do with charging. Since the iPhone 12, iPhones have had MagSafe built in, a circular magnetic system hidden in the back of the devices that allows you to attach accessories such as wallets but also to wirelessly charge your phone using a MagSafe charger.
The iPhone 16 can charge faster using MagSafe than any previous iPhone but you will need to buy Apple’s new MagSafe charger to achieve those speeds.
“For faster wireless charging up to 25W — up to 50 percent battery in around 30 minutes for iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro when paired with the 30W USB‑C Power Adapter (sold separately),” Apple says on the listing page on the Apple Store for the new MagSafe charging cable, which comes without a charger.
It costs £39 for the 1 metre cable and £49 for 2 metres. The 30W power adapter costs £39, meaning you’ll have to stump up at least £78 to wirelessly charge your new iPhone 16 at the fastest possible speeds.
If you have an older iPhone you can still buy and use the new faster MagSafe charger. It even works on iPhones dating back to the iPhone 8, which don’t have MagSafe but are able to charge wirelessly.
“For fast wireless charging up to 15W for iPhone 12 or later with MagSafe when paired with the 20W USB‑C Power Adapter (sold separately),” Apple said.
“For wireless charging up to 7.5W for iPhone 8 or later with Qi when paired with the 20W USB‑C Power Adapter (sold separately).”
If you prefer to plug in to charge, all iPhone 16 models use USB-C, fully abandoning the ageing Lightning connector – but Apple only ships a USB-C cable in the box with every new iPhone and doesn’t supply a charger.
It means if you want the fastest charging speeds for your iPhone 16, whether wired or wireless you’re probably going to have to fork out for a new charger.
