Apple iPhone 17 series could launch with serious MagSafe charging speed upgrades
The launch of the iPhone 17 series is still expected to be over three months away from being released. Nonetheless, information about Apple's next iPhones continues to emerge online ahead of schedule. This time, early details about prospective charging speed increases have turned up courtesy of new regulatory body certifications.
Specifically, the National Communications Commission (NCC) in Taiwan has certified a pair of new MagSafe chargers, which it refers to as A3502 and A3503 throughout its documentation. For context, Apple's current MagSafe chargers bear the model numbers A2580 and A3250 for 1-metre and 2-metre variants, respectively (curr. $48.75 on Amazon). Based on the images that the NCC has published so far, it will be almost impossible to tell Apple's A3502 and A3503 MagSafe chargers apart from its existing units.
However, A3502 and A3503 should jump to the Qi 2.2 standard, up from Qi 2.0 on A2580 and A3250. Theoretically, Qi 2.2. would allow Apple to provide up to 50 W over MagSafe, compared to 25 W for iPhone 16 generation models. While there are no guarantees that Apple would double charging wattages in a single generation, the fact that it has certified new chargers suggests that a charging increase of some kind is on the horizon.
The Qi 2.2 standard brings more than faster charging to the table, though. For example, Qi 2.2. is said to run more efficiently than Qi 2.0, which should reduce the amount of energy lost to heat during the charging process. On top of that, Qi 2.2 improves magnetic alignment too while maintaining compatibility with existing Qi 2.0 devices like the iPhone 16 series. In other words, Apple's new MagSafe chargers will be able to recharge older iPhones as well when they launch this autumn alongside the iPhone 17 series.
