You can use the MagSafe charger or an Apple-approved compatible brand to rapidly and wirelessly recharge your iPhone 12 batteries.
The new iPhone 12 family has 15W wireless charging support that allows you to recharge the batteries twice as fast compared to regular chargers. There is, however, a catch. You need to use Apple's new MagSafe charger brand or an Apple-approved and MagSafe-compatible third-party charger to wirelessly and rapidly charge the batteries on your iPhone 12.
On Tuesday, during Apple's "Hi, Speed" event, the Cupertino tech company reintroduced the MagSafe charger for the iPhone 12. Along with its reintroduction is the unveiling of a new feature on its product page where "magnets align themselves perfectly every time for charging rapidly and wirelessly." What the company was not able to mention though is that only the MagSafe charger brand, and not third-party chargers using the regular Qi charging standard that the MagSafe is based on, can have faster-charging speeds.
If you read the tech specs page of the new iPhone 12 family, a clearer picture emerges. It lists 15W for MagSafe charging and 7.5W for regular Qi wireless charging. This means that you can only recharge your iPhone 12 rapidly and wirelessly with the proprietary MagSafe charger. All iPhones since the introduction of the iPhone 8 in 2017 have wireless charging capability in line with the Qi open standard. However, the iPhone has never reached charging speeds of up to 15W, that is, until Apple reintroduced MagSafe during the "Hi, Speed" event.
The iPhone 12 will bring a new charging experience with MagSafe—a magnetic charging device much like you'd see for the Apple Watch. Apple also unveils a new charger that can charge both your phone and watch simultaneously. https://t.co/UqQgvSBYNS #AppleEvent pic.twitter.com/DgxLAzLP8T — WIRED (@WIRED) October 13, 2020
Apple did not say why the 15W quick charging is available only when using the proprietary MagSafe charger, or whether there are some technical limitations with the MagSafe charger or something unique about it which allows users to recharge their iPhone 12s rapidly and wirelessly. At present, if you want to avail of faster wireless charging for your iPhone 12, then you may have to get Apple's new MagSafe charger brand or buy an Apple-approved and MagSafe-compatible third-party charger.
You can get Apple's MagSafe charger from the company's online store at $39. There are also other MagSafe chargers such as those made by Belkin and Griffin. As regards other third-party chargers, it seems clear that for them to charge your iPhone 12 wirelessly and rapidly, they may have to work with Apple, perhaps through the company's MFi licensing program, to have the same capability.
Theoretically, any brand with a magnetic Qi standard can charge the iPhone 12. However, if you want to recharge your iPhone 12 rapidly and wirelessly, you need to get Apple's MagSafe charger or look for one approved by the company.
