Many people may be wondering whether wireless charging for iPhone is good for the battery or not? The good news is definitely not.
Let's find out why people shouldn't worry about using iPhone wireless charging and what its long-term effects are on the battery.
Wireless charging is increasingly popular.
Why is wireless charging so hot?
Essentially, wireless charging itself does not harm the iPhone battery or reduce its health, but there are side effects that can contribute to battery degradation compared to plugged-in charging, such as wireless charging creating generates more heat than plugged-in charging, which is not good for the battery and can shorten its lifespan.
Wireless charging is harmless when it comes to battery degradation and is no different from traditional plug-in charging. However, when compared to wireless charging, wireless charging generates more heat. Heat causes lithium-ion batteries to wear out, making wireless charging slightly worse than wired charging.
So why does wireless charging generate more heat? This is because wireless charging is less efficient at transferring the energy it takes from the outlet to the device. According to the Wireless Charging Association, wireless chargers can only achieve about 70% charging efficiency, although real-world results can produce even less efficient performance.
This is partly due to the way wireless charging works. Wireless chargers and smartphones both have coils that provide power to the phone. The coils in both the charger and the device need to be aligned to achieve maximum charging efficiency.
Technologies like MagSafe make wireless iPhone charging better.
If the coils are not perfectly aligned, energy is not only wasted, but it also contributes to a slower charging process and generates more heat. Thankfully, this problem has been alleviated with MagSafe and Qi2 wireless charging, which both use magnets to perfectly align the charger and device.
Energy that is not supplied to the smartphone will turn into heat and cause the iPhone to heat up, thereby making the battery hot and causing the battery to degrade. Using thick protective cases will make this worse because the heat doesn't escape as quickly, causing the iPhone to stay hot for a longer period of time.
Things aren't so bad
The good news is that heat is not a major issue for the iPhone even when users are using a non-MagSafe wireless charger. This is because the iPhone only charges at 7.5W charging speed when charged with a wireless charger that is not compatible with MagSafe. Such a small amount of power does not generate much heat which is the main reason why iPhone users do not have to worry about the battery degrading too quickly due to wireless charging.
However, to charge the battery better and protect iPhone battery health, users need to take some measures as mentioned below:
- Make sure to enable the Optimized Battery charging feature on your iPhone by going to Settings > Battery.
- If you own an iPhone 15, make sure to select the 80% Limit option so that your iPhone only charges up to 80% by going to Settings -> Battery -> Charging Optimization.
- Use a MagSafe compatible wireless charger.
Adjusting charging will help optimize the charging ability of your iPhone battery.
- Don't let your iPhone battery drop below 20% charge. Charge your device regularly throughout the day to keep the battery percentage above 20%. Avoiding overnight charging can also help protect battery health.
- Avoid using the device and performing power-intensive tasks such as playing games while the device is charging.
- If using a durable iPhone case, make sure to remove it before charging the device.
- Update iPhone to the latest iOS version to avoid errors and battery drain issues.
- Turn off unused features and turn off Background App Refresh for applications users do not use frequently.
Besides, if you are worried about your iPhone overheating while charging, you can use a wireless charger with a built-in cooling fan.