Sources & Revision History

Standard CC/CV charging protocol. Documented in Battery University and visible in every ChargerLAB charge curve graph.

ChargerLAB charge curves show wattage converging to ~5-9W in the 80-100% phase regardless of charger rating.

Apple Tech Specs pages and regulatory filings. Each device name in the guide links to its Apple product or tech-specs page. Apple publishes no capacity for iPhones. The 18 Pro figures are read off the cell labels of the eSIM units in iFixit's teardown (September 2026): 21.751 Wh (5,567 mAh) and 16.76 Wh (4,288 mAh), about 3.9 V nominal. Until September 21 the rows carried ~21.4 and ~16.5, derived from the July 2026 China 3C filings (GSMArena) at 3.85 V, the same derivation the 17 Pro Max row (5,088 mAh, 19.6 Wh) still uses because no label read for it has been verified; a leaked label (ChargerLAB, July 8, 2026) had already printed 3.903 V. Apple publishes hours for the Duo's two cells, not capacity.

ChargerLAB power meter tests. Apple doesn't publish max wattage for iPhones -- these are measured values.

ChargerLAB's full charging review, published on its Chinese sister site (chongdiantou.com, September 21, 2026; tested in a 25°C chamber from a drained battery): Apple 20W, 19.7W, 50% in 41 minutes, full in 1h 56m; Apple 40W Dynamic Power Adapter with 60W Max, SPR AVS at 17.35V, 52.9W peak held for 9 minutes, 50% in 15 minutes, 80% in 29, full in 1h 12m; Apple 140W, plain PD at 15V, ~44W, 50% in 17 minutes, 80% in 32, full in 1h 10m. Peak surface temperature 39.4°C at 20 minutes.

Apple iPhone 18 Pro Tech Specs: "Up to 50% charge in around 15 minutes when using 60W-capable adapter or higher with Adjustable Voltage Supply (available separately) paired with USB-C charging cable." iPhone Duo Tech Specs: around 20 minutes "with 60W-capable adapter or higher," and its footnote asks only for "USB PD power adapters," no AVS. The Duo ships October 23. No lab test of either exists yet, so the 60W is Apple's adapter spec, not a measured draw, and the 20W-adapter times are scaled from the 17 Pro rows by battery size (Duo scaled from Apple's own 20-vs-15-minute ratio). To be replaced with lab numbers.

Apple's spec footnote: "Wired fast charge supported with 60W-capable USB‑C cable and USB PD 3.1 (or better) power adapters with Adjustable Voltage Supply (AVS)." Apple's own adapter is the "40W Dynamic Power Adapter with 60W Max" (model A3351, the US model on the Apple Store), $39.00 (September 23, 2026). ChargerLAB tore down the China model, A3365, whose label reads "(AVS) 15-20V 2A [3.0A DPS] or (AVS) 9-15V 2.67A"; the US unit is presumably the same design. Third-party AVS chargers work: ChargerLAB measured a Mukiya 70W at around 51W on an 18 Pro Max (September 22, 2026), and its full review lists more third-party chargers triggering SPR AVS at 50-52W. Apple's own 140W and 70W adapters don't do AVS; they fall back to plain PD at about 43W, which still reaches 50% in 17 minutes. Correction: the September 15 version of this entry said only Apple's adapter qualified and that non-AVS chargers took about 20 minutes; both were wrong. Apple Support's "Fast charge your iPhone" names the alternative: "A comparable third-party 60W-capable (or greater) adapter that uses Adjustable Voltage Supply (AVS) and supports USB Power Delivery (USB-PD) 3.2" (the spec footnote says PD 3.1 or better; Apple's two pages disagree). The Anker Prime 160W lists "an AVS voltage range of 15–28V 140W" in ChargerLAB's teardown, the range PD 3.1 defines for high-power (EPR) mode; the phone negotiated 17-18V in SPR AVS on every charger that worked. No test of the Anker with an 18 Pro has been published.

Phone: Apple Support, "Fast charge your iPhone" asks for AVS only for the 18 Pro and Pro Max; the Duo's spec footnote asks for "USB PD power adapters," and the 17, 17 Pro, 17 Pro Max, 17e and Air spec pages give only an adapter wattage. Chargers: ChargerLAB's review measured Apple's 40W Dynamic triggering SPR AVS and Apple's 140W and 70W falling back to plain PD. Cable: Apple's footnote asks for a "60W-capable USB‑C cable"; the box holds a "USB‑C Charge Cable (1 m)," described by ChargerLAB as a woven USB-C fast-charge cable; and per the USB specification (summarized on Wikipedia), "Every USB‑C cable must support at least 3 amps of current and up to 20 volts for up to 60 watts of power." Apple also sells the cable separately as the "60W USB-C Charge Cable (1 m)," $19. Name: Apple's spec and support pages say "Adjustable Voltage Supply (AVS)"; its adapter page calls the feature Dynamic Power ("With Dynamic Power, you get...") and says the adapter is "uniquely designed to dynamically deliver up to 60W of output." The ~12% is ChargerLAB's 15 vs 17 minutes to 50% on the 18 Pro Max.

Apple Tech Specs for each model, "Power and Battery": e.g. iPhone 16, "MagSafe wireless charging up to 25W" with 30W adapter; iPhone 18 Pro, "up to 25W" with "35W adapter or higher paired with MagSafe Charger" and "Up to 50% charge in 30 minutes"; iPhone 17e, 15W; iPhone 15 Pro Max, 15W. The 16 line got its 25W Qi2 (Qi2.2) rating via iOS 26 (MacRumors, August 23, 2025). The 16e has no MagSafe or Qi2 at all (7.5W Qi) and isn't in the table. Rechecked September 23, 2026 against each model's Apple tech specs: 17 Pro Max, 17 Pro, 17, 16 Plus and 16 at "up to 25W" (30W adapter), Air at 20W, 17e and 15 Pro Max at 15W. Apple's 16 Pro Max page still reads MagSafe 25W but "Qi2 wireless charging up to 15W," written before the iOS 26 update. ChargerLAB's 17 Pro Max review measured "about 15.11V 2.17A 32.75W" with the MagSafe Charger; that is the power going into the puck, not the 25W reaching the phone.

Apple's September 9 announcements: iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone Duo, Watch Series 12, Watch Ultra 4, AirPods 5, Mac mini, Mac Studio. The 45W MagSafe charger that surfaced in Taiwan NCC filings (GSMArena) has not been released; the retail MagSafe Charger remains the 25W Qi2 unit, models A3502 (1 m) and A3503 (2 m): Apple Support, "MagSafe Charger, noted on the device or its cable as part number A3502, A3503, A2580, or A3250 ... Get up to 25W faster wireless charging." Apple's own 18 Pro spec caps MagSafe at 25W and tests with the same A3502/A3503.

ChargerLAB charge tests (18 Pro Max, 17 Pro Max, 17 Pro, 16 Pro Max). Digital Trends tests used to fill iPhone 17, 16 Plus, 16, 15 Pro Max. 17e and Air estimated from 20W cap + battery size.

Apple stopped including chargers starting with iPhone 12 (October 2020). Apple product pages confirm "USB-C Charge Cable (1 m)" only.

Apple Tech Specs. Confirmed in regulatory filings (capacity in Wh listed on all iPad product pages).

Apple "What's in the Box" sections on each iPad product page.

Apple iPad Pro Tech Specs: "Up to 50% charge in around 30 minutes with the 40W Dynamic Power Adapter with 60W Max or other USB-C power adapter capable of providing 60W or higher"; Apple Support: "Fast charge your iPad" (July 29, 2026) lists the M5 Pro as the only fast-charging iPad. ChargerLAB's M5 compatibility test confirms 20V/3A 60W (the M4 measured ~35W). Apple gives the same ~30 minutes for both sizes, and the 11" row uses it; until September 23, 2026 it carried ~25 minutes, scaled from the 13" by capacity. Correction: the guide listed the Pro as M4 from February to September 2026; the M5 shipped October 2025. Air wattage: Maplee Tech, April 28, 2026, 77 chargers on an iPad Air M4: "the highest measured output was 24.16W, and the average was 20.97W." Correction (September 23, 2026): this row said ~31W, credited to Digital Trends testing that couldn't be found. Mini 7 caps at ~20W per multiple independent tests.

ChargerLAB tests for Pro models. Mini times estimated from battery capacity and measured max draw rates. The Air rows show no times: Apple publishes none, no lab has published a 0-50% time for the M4 Air, and the best measured draw (24.16W across 77 chargers, Maplee Tech) is barely above the included 20W adapter. Notebookcheck measured the 11" at up to 20W and at most 2:15 to full on the stock adapter. Correction (September 23, 2026): the Air rows carried times (~1h 25m / ~55m, ~1h 10m / ~45m) credited to Digital Trends testing that couldn't be found.

Apple Tech Specs pages. MacBook battery capacities are published by Apple.

Apple "What's in the Box" sections. M5 Air adapter changed from 30-35W to 40W Dynamic Power Adapter.

Apple Support: "Fast charge your MacBook Air or MacBook Pro": "up to 50 percent battery in around 30 minutes." Tech specs: MacBook Air "Fast-charge capable with 70W or higher USB PD power source" (it ships with the 40W Dynamic Power Adapter with 60W Max, which falls short); 14" MacBook Pro 96W; 16" 140W. The MacBook Neo spec page makes no fast-charge claim.

Apple MacBook Air M5 product page, March 2026. The 40W Dynamic Power Adapter (USB PD 3.2, Adjustable Voltage Supply) was introduced September 2025 with iPhone 17.

macOS Tahoe 26.4 release notes (March 25, 2026). Orange indicator in Battery settings and menu bar. Same update added granular Charge Limit (80-100%) to macOS.

Apple MacBook Pro Tech Specs: 70W adapter included with M5 base and M5 Pro (15-core CPU). 96W with M5 Pro (18-core CPU). 140W with all M5 Max and all 16" configs.

EU Common Charger Directive, in force for laptops April 28, 2026. Apple removed the adapter from EU/UK boxes ahead of the deadline: MacBook Pro M5 (October 2025), then MacBook Neo and Air M5 (March 2026). A USB-C to MagSafe cable is still included. US boxes unchanged. MacRumors, October 15, 2025 and March 4, 2026.

ChargerLAB power meter tests. Apple Watch charges at ~5W via magnetic puck. AirPods at ~3-5W via case. Charger wattage is irrelevant -- device draw is the bottleneck.

Apple Support: "About fast charge on Apple Watch": "Fast charging requires an Apple USB-C Magnetic Fast Charging Cable," with any "USB Power Delivery (USB-PD) of 5W or greater" adapter; "WPT-compliant chargers don't support fast charging." Apple doesn't say how much slower other cables are. The Series 12 and Ultra 4 ship with a new cable, Model A3277, which "charges those models faster than older chargers." Correction (September 23, 2026): the guide said the wrong cable was "roughly twice as slow," a figure with no source.

Series 12 Tech Specs: "Up to 80% charge in about 30 minutes"; Ultra 4 Tech Specs: "about 45 minutes"; both tested with the Magnetic Fast Charger to USB-C Cable and a 20W adapter, both boxes include the cable and no adapter. AirPods 5 Tech Specs: the $129 case "works with USB-C connector"; the $149 Wireless Charging Case adds "Apple Watch charger, or Qi-certified chargers"; 5 minutes in the case is about an hour of playback. AirPods 4 left the lineup.

Battery University BU-808, Table 3, "Estimated recoverable capacity when storing Li-ion for one year at various temperatures": at 100% charge, 25°C 80%, 40°C 65% (at 40% charge, 96% and 85%). "Elevated temperature hastens permanent capacity loss." This is storage aging, not charging. Apple: "62° to 72° F (16° to 22° C) as the ideal comfort zone. It's especially important to avoid exposing your device to ambient temperatures higher than 95° F (35° C), which can permanently damage battery capacity." Correction (September 23, 2026): the guide said "at 45°C, lifespan is halved vs. 20°C." No Battery University page, live or archived back to 2015, says that; its only "halved" rule is for sealed lead-acid batteries ("each 8°C (15°F) rise in temperature cuts the life... in half"), and 45°C is Apple's maximum storage temperature, not a half-life.

Visible in every ChargerLAB charge curve. Peak wattage is sustained only during the CC phase (0-~45%), typically 10-20 minutes. Thermal throttling and CV transition reduce draw well before 80%.

Battery University, Electrochemical Society publications. Apple's own design (aggressive thermal throttling, charge curve tapering) confirms they prioritize temperature management over charge speed.

Derived from Battery University's depth-of-discharge vs. cycle-life data for lithium cobalt oxide cells (the chemistry Apple uses). Ranges reflect variation across studies and cell quality. The "doubling per 10%" pattern is a well-documented approximation.

Apple Support: "About Optimized Battery Charging on your iPhone." Introduced in iOS 13 (2019). Learns daily charging routine using on-device machine learning.

Apple Support: "Use Charge Limit on your iPhone." iOS 17 initially offered 80% only; iOS 18 added 5% increments. On the Mac, Apple Support: "Charge Limit Requires macOS Tahoe 26.4 or later and a Mac with Apple silicon." Correction (September 23, 2026): this row said macOS Sequoia; Sequoia never had it.

Release coverage swept for charging features: none. Optimized Battery Charging, Charge Limit, Clean Energy Charging and the Mac Slow Charger label carry over unchanged; the Mac charge-limit granularity and Slow Charger label date from macOS 26.4, not 27 (MacRumors, May 11, 2026). watchOS 27 adds battery-saving suggestions, which is not a charging feature. Golden Gate is Apple silicon only.

Apple Support: cold "might temporarily shorten battery life" and "Battery life will return to normal when you bring your device back to higher ambient temperatures"; "If your iOS or iPadOS device gets too cold, it might not charge or could stop charging." Heat is the permanent one: "very hot conditions can permanently shorten battery life." Correction (September 23, 2026): the guide said cold causes permanent damage.

USB Power Delivery specification. The sink (device) negotiates voltage/current with the source (charger). A 140W charger cannot push more power than the device requests.

Apple Support: "About battery cycle count for Mac notebooks" and "iPhone battery and performance." The iPhone 15 upgrade from 500 to 1,000 cycles was announced at the September 2023 keynote.

Apple Support: "Determine battery cycle count for Mac notebooks." Apple's example: "you could use half your laptop's charge in one day, then recharge fully. If you did the same thing the next day, it would count as one charge cycle."

Anker A2687 product listing. PD 3.1 support on all three ports (28V/5A for 140W). GaN technology, built-in display.

Anker A2687 Quick Start Guide (October 2025), "Charging Modes": AI Mode, "The charger adjusts power automatically every 2 minutes for maximum efficiency"; Standard Mode, with "C1 Port Priority Mode" ("The charger sends most power to the USB-C1 port") and "Dual-Laptop Mode" ("splits power equally between two laptops"); Custom Mode, set in the Anker app. The guide's fixed splits (140W on one port; 100W + 60W on two; 100W + 30W + 30W on three) are the manual's diagram. It carries no mode label, but the Japanese name for Standard Mode is "固定配分モード," fixed allocation. The even splits reviewers measured (ChargerLAB: ~77.6W + ~76.1W on two laptops) are AI or Dual-Laptop behavior.

Anker's recall page lists power banks only, no wall chargers. Street price $105-116 (Best Buy, The Gadgeteer June 2026) against a $149.99 list. Anker's firmware update adds "dynamic power distribution for the iPhone 17 series" (Anker user guide), so the 17 Pro gets its full 40W. Closest rival in class is the UGREEN Nexode Pro 160W (four ports, no display, ~$120). Caveat: the roundups I could reach this pass (Engadget, February 2026) don't feature it; Wirecutter and Tom's Hardware were unreachable. The recommendation rests on the spec match (140W single port = Apple's ceiling) and the lack of any recall, not on a fresh roundup consensus.

Apple Support: "About Apple USB power adapters": "Most iPhone models earlier than iPhone 11 came with a 5W power adapter in the box." Model numbers: A1385 (US), named in the Apple Watch Series 7 tech specs ("Apple 5W USB Power Adapter (Model A1385)"); A1400 (EU), named on Apple's 5W European USB Power Adapter Exchange Program page ("A redesigned adapter features Model A1400").

Calculated from battery capacity / 5W, adjusted for charge curve inefficiency. MacBook Air won't charge from 5W USB-A -- insufficient voltage for USB-C PD negotiation.

ChargerLAB's 18 Pro Max review (chongdiantou.com, September 21) replaces that row's Apple claims with measurements: ~53W peak, 41 minutes to 50% at 20W, 15 on an AVS adapter. Corrected the AVS catch: Apple's adapter is not the only one that qualifies, and a non-AVS 140W reaches 50% in 17 minutes, not 20. Added a Fast Charging section on what the term means and which hardware uses AVS. Only the 18 Pro and Pro Max ask for AVS; the Duo and every 17 don't. The MagSafe adapter for the 17 line is 30W, not 35W. Fact-check fixes: Charge Limit on the Mac arrived with macOS Tahoe 26.4, not Sequoia; cold slows or stops charging but does not permanently damage the battery, per Apple; the 14" MacBook Pro's 70W and 96W tiers are the 15- and 18-core M5 Pro; the Apple Watch line now says the wrong cable means no fast charging (the "twice as slow" figure had no source); the iPad Air rows now carry Maplee Tech's measured ~24W (the ~31W credited to Digital Trends couldn't be found); the Anker's single-port figure adds its 150W peak; the 5W adapter model numbers now cite the Apple pages that name them; the Anker port splits now cite Anker's own manual; the iPad Pro 11" takes Apple's ~30 minutes (was a scaled ~25) and the iPad Air rows drop their unsourced times; the AVS section is now "The Fast Charging Recipe"; the Watch line notes the new A3277 cable; the MagSafe receipts name the A3502/A3503 chargers and record a model-by-model recheck of the wireless column; the Mac receipt quotes Apple's current fast-charge wording; the Heat card's "45°C halves lifespan" figure, which no source supports, is replaced with Battery University's storage table and Apple's 35°C warning.

The 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max watt-hours are now the numbers printed on the cell labels, read in iFixit's teardown: 21.75 Wh (was ~21.4) and 16.76 Wh (was ~16.5). The derivation at 3.85 V ran about 1.6% low; the labels imply about 3.9 V. Downstream: the 18 Pro Max's scaled 20W time returns to ~42 minutes, its Faster column to 64%, and its 5W time to ~2h 20m; the 18 Pro's scaled times round the same as before. Still no ChargerLAB test of either phone; the daggers stay.

Correction to the 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max watt-hours. The September 15 refresh derived them from the SIM-tray-model capacities (5,391 and 4,056 mAh) at a volts-per-cell figure obtained by dividing the 17 Pro rows' US-model watt-hours by SIM-tray milliamp-hours, an invented 4.06 V. Rederived from the US-model 3C capacities at 3.85 V nominal: 21.4 Wh (was 21.9) and 16.5 Wh (was 16.3). The 18 Pro Max's scaled 20W time moves from ~42 to ~41 minutes and its 5W time from ~2h 20m to ~2h 15m; the 5W receipt row now names the 18 Pro Max. ChargerLAB has not tested the 18 Pro yet; in each of the last three years its first charging test landed three to four days after on-sale day (17 Pro Max September 22, 2025; 16 Pro Max September 24, 2024; 15 Pro Max September 25, 2023), so the † rows should turn into measurements within days, the Duo's in late October.

September event refresh. Added iPhone 18 Pro, 18 Pro Max and iPhone Duo (Apple's 60W / 15-minute claim, flagged † pending lab tests, with the AVS adapter catch). Added the MagSafe / Qi2 column to the iPhone table (wireless folded in, as planned in July). Corrected the iPad Pro rows to the M5 (60W fast charging, shipped October 2025; the guide had carried the M4's ~35W since publication). Wearables: Series 12 / Ultra 4 (30 / 45 min to 80%), AirPods 5. Re-verified the Anker Prime 160W (no recall, price down). Swept iOS 27 / macOS 27: no charging changes. Repointed the 17 Pro Max, 17 Pro, 16 Pro Max, 16 Plus and 15 Pro Max links to Apple's tech-specs pages after the product pages went dark. No new MagSafe charger shipped.

News sweep since May. Corrected wearables lineup: Apple Watch Ultra 3 (shipped September 2025), not Ultra 2. Added EU/UK no-charger-in-box note to MacBooks. Re-verified iPhone 17 fast-charge specs and the Anker Prime 160W recommendation (no recalls; Anker's 2025-26 recalls covered power banks only). WWDC 2026 announced no new charging features.

Noted the USB-PD 240W spec ceiling (Framework now ships a 240W adapter; no Apple device asks for more than 140W). Entry added retroactively July 26.

Added sources page. Fixed Apple Watch fast-charging claim in wearables section.

Major update for March 2026 hardware refresh: iPhone 17e, MacBook Air M5, MacBook Neo, MacBook Pro M5. Added macOS Tahoe 26.4 Slow Charger warning and granular Charge Limit. Updated all charging tables.

Added "The 80% Question" battery health section. Added mobile-responsive layout.

Initial publication.