How fast will your new iPhone charge? It looks like Apple is preparing to ship a more powerful charger in the retail box of the iPhone 12 family and offer consumers an advantage over the iPhone 11. But will every iPhone benefit?

Almost every new smartphone these days - not just the flagships - will have a bullet point along the lines of ‘empty to fifty percent in thirty minutes’ (give or take). Apple is set to go a little bit faster with 2020’s handsets, but will it short change the iPhone 12?

Apple’s page for the iPhone 11 Pro (and Pro Max) handsets follows the crowd. The “empty to fifty in around thirty minutes with fast charge” is featured after the camera features, the XDR display, and the A13 processor.

This is achievable out of the box as the more expensive iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max ship with the fast-charge 18W unit.

Meanwhile, Apple may push ‘all-day battery life’ prominently on the iPhone 11’s product page, but its note about charging, almost ninety percent of the way down the page, is telling.

The first line is both clear and recognisable; “Charge your battery to up to 50 percent in just 30 minutes with an 18W adapter”; but it’s the next line that is the killer… “sold separately.” The iPhone 11 ships with a paltry 5W charger.

The latest leaked images show a new 20W USB-C charger that is expected to be part of the new retail package. Benjamin Mayo reports:

"The iPhone 11 Pro comes with an 18 W USB-C power adapter, but the cheaper iPhone 11 still only comes with the 5 W charger. For at least some models of the iPhone 12, it now appears Apple is upgrading the power adapter to a new 20 W USB-C adapter. The photos were posted today by leaker Mr white on Twitter [below].”

New iPhone 12 will Be Equipped with 20W Power Adapter pic.twitter.com/FBJxlJXyYW

— Mr·white (@laobaiTD) June 24, 2020

The question remains if Apple will follow the iPhone 11 path and only supply the fast charger in the more expensive ‘Pro’ handsets, or if the entry-level iPhone 12 will get a long awaited upgrade from the slowest charger that Apple makes.

Given Apple is reducing the cost of the iPhone packaging by potentially removing the EarPods, I feel it likely that anyone wanting fast-charging on the iPhone 12 is going to have to pay Apple for the 20W charger.