I hear this so many times and I’m going to explain why a 100W USB-C charger isn’t bad for your iPhone or any Apple device, for that matter.
Don’t Worry, a 100W USB-C Charger Won’t Harm Your iPhone as Long as You’re Using One from a Reputable Brand
The great thing about USB-C is the amount of power it can deliver to a connected device. We are seeing speeds beyond 140W with USB Power Delivery 3.1. The latest USB4 standard supports speeds of up to 240W, if needed. This simply wasn’t possible with USB-A until or unless manufacturers were violating the USB protocol to make room those speeds.
So, the question is, if you have a 100W USB-C charger, will it damage your iPhone?
The straight answer to this is, no it won’t.
Here’s the explanation why – because your iPhone, or any Apple USB-C compatible device, will only draw the amount of power that is needed for the safest and fastest possible charging speeds. However, there are conditions to this as well.
USB Power Delivery (or USB-C) chargers have certain profiles (or protocols) that can be accessed by a connected device for fast charging. For example, the latest iPhone and iPad devices can charge at an unusual speed of 20W. That 20W speed is a newly added protocol to the USB PD standard. If you have an older charger, even though it is rated at 30W output, your device will either charge at 18W speeds or go beyond to the next supported profile.
The iPhone will only access the necessary protocol from the 100W USB-C charger you’re connected to. By the way, the Pro Max model of the iPhone can achieve speeds of up to 27W if the battery is around 20% and then slow down after 50%. If the 27W profile is present in your 100W charger, it will supply that amount of power, if it isn’t, it will offer slower charging speeds. It will never ever accidentally supply faster charging protocols or profiles as the iPhone doesn’t support it.
These devices are insanely smart and can manage power as the temperature changes, too.
But, if you’re using an extremely cheap or poorly assembled charger along with a bad cable, then things can go wrong. In fact, even if you have the slowest possible charger on the planet to charge your iPhone, it can still damage it, if it is not from a good brand or doesn’t follow proper standards.
I am not going to name any brand here that is best for charging an iPhone. If you can get hands on the official charger, go for it. There are tons of great third-party options available which you can find using a simple search online.
Read the reviews, check the videos, you’ll find it all.
