Your iPhone 14 has a secret MagSafe charging upgrade

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Apple didn't say that the Phone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro have any major MagSafe upgrades, but it turns out at least one model can charge faster for longer than its predecessor.

While MagSafe has been around since the release of the iPhone 12 series of devices, it hasn't really changed since. It's still limited to the same 20W maximum charging power, but according to some testing it appears that, in the case of the iPhone 14 Pro Max at least, it can charge faster than last year's model.

That testing was carried out by ChargerLAB and involved charging an iPhone 13 Pro Max and iPhone 14 Pro Max using a standard Apple MagSafe charger. ChargerLAB then measured the amount of power that the iPhones were able to draw from the charger, noting that the newer model was able to maintain higher charging speeds for longer.

That was a point further proven by the amount of time it took an iPhone 14 Pro Max to charge to 100% — two hours and 18 minutes. The iPhone 13 Pro Max took two hours and 26 minutes which, while not a huge difference, does point to the newer iPhone being able to charge at a faster rate, at least for a longer period of time.

As for why Apple's best iPhones are charging more speedily than last year's, it's likely all down to the newer models' improved thermal situation. MagSafe generates heat when charging, just like any other wireless charger. The only way to reduce that heat is to charge more slowly, but if the iPhone can keep itself cooler during the charging process it can accept power more quickly — hence the slightly shorter charging times.

Whether those improved charging times will make a huge difference to most people is a matter for debate. But if you're waiting to duck out of the door with a full battery, it can make all the difference in the world.

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.