Apple’s New iPhones Have A Nasty
Surprise
NEWS
The iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and redesigned iPhone X have
arrived. They bring a host of new features and increased pri-
ce tags (some more than others), but on closer inspection it
appears Apple’s AAPL -0.75% most fundamental upgrade will
not work as expected...
‘Great Secret Features’ and ‘Nasty Surprises’ are my regular
columns investigating operating system updates for the best
features / biggest problems hidden behind the headlines.
Apple’s new iPhones bring fast charging, but at a cost...
The iPhone X, iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus finally delivered fast
charging to the iPhone range years after most of Apple’s rivals.
It was essential. Apple makes solid claims about performance
too saying it will provide a 50% charge in just 30 minutes.
But there’s a problem: this won’t happen out the box.
Yes, despite Apple pricing its new iPhones as high as $1,149,
not a single one of the new iPhones will come with a fast char-
ger as standard. This is because Apple will continue to bundle
the Lightning to USB-A charger regardless of model or storage
capacity and fast charging will require a more powerful Light-
ning to USB-C charger.
Needless to say, that don’t come cheap.
Apple currently sells three different Lighting to USB Type-C
chargers, the 29W A1540, 61W A1718 and 87W A1719 and
they retail for $49, $69 and $79 respectively. Furthermore the
chargers all have mixed reviews on Apple’s site. Why? Because
none of them come with a cable.
Apple’s Lightning to USB-C fast chargers are expensive (this is
the cheapest) and a compatible cable costs extra
And you will need one because the bundled Lightning to USB-A
cable won’t fit. Of course Apple sells individual Lighting to
USB-C cables in 1 metre and 2 metre variants and they cost
$25 and $35 respectively. So this means users will need to pay
a minimum of $74 to add fast wired charging to a new iPhone -
that’s a total outlay of $1,224 in the case of the 256GB iPhone
X.
Except wait! Because that’s probably not the end of your costs.
While Apple confirmed to me the requirements for iPhone X,
iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus fast wired charging, it has yet to
confirm whether the Qi-compatible wireless charging of the new
models will be compliant with Qi’s existing 15W fast wireless
charging standard. AppleInsider explains users may instead re-
quire ‘AirPower’ certified devices (Apple’s customisation of the
Qi standard) for a premium wireless charging experience.
8
All Apple’s new iPhones support wireless charging, but is fast
wireless charging another optional extra?
How much will an Apple AirPower matt cost? We don’t know.
Apple showed matts off at the launch, but they won’t go on sale
until 2018. Then again the optional AirPods’ wireless charging
case expected to cost $70, bringing both fast wired and wire-
less charging to your Apple gadgets is likely to be far more ex-
pensive than most users imagined. And that’s before you think
about having chargers in multiple locations.
Feel free to do the math based on the iPhone model which
interests you:
iPhone X - 64GB ($999), 256GB ($1,149)
iPhone 8 - 64GB ($699), 256GB ($849)
iPhone 8 Plus - 64GB ($799), 256GB ($949)
Fast wired charger - 29W ($49), 61W ($69) 87W ($79)
Lighting to USB-C cable - 1m ($25), 2m ($35)
AirPower charging matt (Unknown)
AirPods wireless charging case ($70 expected)
Ultimately iPhone fans will pay what they wish to pay, no-one
is being forced to part with their money. But with new models
costing over $1,000 and many fast charging Android phones
costing less than the cost of Apple’s optional fast charging ac-
cessories, it is understandable if some think Tim Cook has fi-
nally gone too far…