iPhone 17 Leak: Lineup May Get Big Charging Booster Shot?

According to the latest iPhone 17 leak, Apple's upcoming series may not actually see major improvement in charging speeds. In a note shared by MacRumors, analyst Jeff Pu asserts that all four models—iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max—will feature 35W wired charging capability. This is fast, but it’s not a big upgrade from iPhones that have come before it.

Last year, ChargerLAB found that the iPhone 16 Pro Max could reach a peak charging speed of 37W when using Apple’s 140W USB-C adapter.

Similarly, PhoneArena reported that the standard iPhone 16 briefly hit 38W but, in normal conditions, charged at around 20W.

One thing that is emerging from this is that the iPhone 17 series may not bring many changes in wired charging speeds as the iPhone 16 lineup already reaches the maximum speed of 35W, which is far superior to previous models. A downside for some users may be that they might be looking for significantly faster charging speeds.

Pu did not mention whether Apple will improve MagSafe wireless charging speeds though. The iPhone 16 models currently support up to 25W wireless charging, but it's unclear if Apple will make any changes for the iPhone 17 series.

However, Apple could be looking elsewhere to boost iPhone 17 battery. So, even though, charging speeds may remain the same, other improvements could be brought in, like better battery efficiency, power management and heat control. The role of the latest chips in managing, and bringing power efficiencies has increased and that may well be in store to boost the iPhone 17 without altering wired charging speeds.

Notably, modern smartphones drain batteries very quickly as demand is huge from a number of apps that are constantly running and on top of that has been added the weight of running artificial intelligence features.

Whether these enhancements actually end up boosting iPhone 17's battery life to improve performance is unclear, but one thing that is clear is that Apple cannot afford to bank on the old with Samsung and Chinese smartphones biting at its heels.

While Apple has yet to release any official details about the iPhone 17 lineup, more details, via leaks, could emerge as the launch date draws closer.