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We've all been there. You know, you're out and going about your day, using your phone for messages, email, taking photos and video, doomscrolling your social media feeds, playing some mobile games and before you know it, the battery is almost dead. You're not sure if you can make it home to charge up, but you have an important call that you're waiting for, or you need your phone for directions home from a new area. What can you do?
We can't afford to have our phones die on us, which makes fast charging an essential feature for the best phones. It has been available in various forms for years and keeps getting better. The USB Power Delivery standard is an absolute game changer, supporting charging speeds up to 240 watts. This allows a high-quality USB-C fast charger to charge not just your phone but also your tablet, headphones, smartwatch and even laptop. So whether you're rocking the cheaper iPhone 16E or the supersized iPhone 16 Pro Max, these fast chargers will help you get the boost you need.
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Better yet, Apple phones from the iPhone 12 or later all support Power Delivery fast charging of at least 20 watts, with the Pro and Pro Max reportedly supporting even faster speeds. This feature allows your iPhone to recharge from zero to 50% in half an hour and up to 80% in roughly an hour, ensuring that even a short charge can keep your phone alive for the rest of the day.
With the open standard of a feature like Power Delivery, there's an almost infinite variety of chargers for you to choose from. This includes everything from simple one-port plugs to multi-port adapters, car chargers and iPhone-friendly power banks. CNET's experts have dedicated years to testing fast chargers of every stripe to bring you only the best (though occasionally, we feature the newer version of one we previously tested).
Best iPhone fast charger: Buying advice
- Power Delivery charging for iPhones requires a USB-C Power delivery charger, so while some of these chargers may feature USB-A ports, you'll get the fastest charge with the USB-C port.
- iPhones released before 2023 carry a Lightning port rather than the more common USB-C standard, so be sure you have a charging cable that matches your own requirements.
- Two ports are always better than one, allowing you to charge two phones at once, or a phone and an accessory like wireless headphones.
- Higher wattage is better up to a point. You need a minimum of 20 watts to get the fastest charge on a non-Pro iPhone, but if you grab a 45-watt or 65-watt charger, you'll be able to use it with your laptop too.
- Many of these chargers use a fast semiconductor material called gallium nitride, aka GaN, that's largely replaced older, slow, silicon chips. GaN chargers can be smaller and build up less heat while charging thanks to their higher efficiency. They're compatible with everything in today's Apple range, from AirPods and iPhones all the way to the big 16-inch MacBook Pro. They might not be optimal for models older than the iPhone 12, though.
- Every charger here can also juice up an Android phone (so long as you supply a compatible charging cord or USB cable) as well as a Nintendo Switch.
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Tiny 20W USB-C PD charger
Anker's Nano is literally the size of old Apple's 5-watt USB charger that used to ship with iPhones but offers 20-watt charging. Featuring Anker's PowerIQ 3.0 technology, it charges more than 2.5x faster than that 5-watt charger (with a USB-C-to-Lightning cable). It was recently upgraded from 18 to 20 watts.
Micro 20W charger with foldable plug
A GaNFast charger, Spigen's 20-watt ArcStation Pro is one of the smallest fast-charging USB-C chargers you'll find. While the Anker Nano is a bit smaller, it doesn't have a foldable plug like this model. Using a USB-C-to-Lightning cable, it charges close to three times faster than Apple's standard 5-watt USB charger.
Best cheap car charger
I originally had an Aukey cigarette-lighter power adapter on this list, but it's out of stock and this low-profile Ainope mini fast USB Car Charger offers even faster charging (up 24 watts) and costs less. It has both a USB-C and USB-A port so you can charge two devices at the same time, but to get 15-watt wireless charging, you're going to be better off charging one device.
Compact 100W USB-C charger
Yes, a 100-watt charger is overkill for charging your phone. But if you want a charger that can charge any USB-C laptop, including the 16-inch MacBook Pro (which happens to be my work computer), the Baseus 100W GaN II Fast Charger is the latest and greatest high-wattage fast-charging USB-C charger. As its name implies, it features GaN II technology. It's both significantly smaller than earlier 100-watt chargers and more energy efficient, so it doesn't heat up as much. It adapts to whatever device you're charging, delivering the highest charging speed that the device is capable of.
Best environmentally friendly charger
Nimble is all about making its products from recycled plastics, and not having any plastic in its packaging. Its Wally Mini is a dual-port 20-watt PD charger with fast-charging capabilities. You can charge two devices at once, but to get to top charging speed for your iPhone you'll need to connect it using a USB-C-to-Lightning cable (to the USB-C port) without having any other devices connected to the USB-A port.
It has retractable prongs, is quite compact and also feels pretty light. If you didn't know it was made out of recycled plastic, you might not guess that it was. But since I did know, I did think, "Yes, this feels like recycled plastic." Not that it feels bad, but it does look and feel a little different.
Nimble also includes a bag in the box for your e-waste items. If your old electronics product is on Nimble's list of approved electronics for recycling, you can print out a free shipping label to send in your gear for recycling.
Latest and greatest micro charger
The Anker Nano II 30-watt is a next-generation fast charger powered by gallium nitride technology. It's about the same size as the original 20-watt Nano charger but delivers more fast charging power. The Nano II will not only charge your phone but a MacBook Air, iPad and other Apple devices. Anker also sells 45- and 65-watt chargers. Read our first take on Anker's Nano II chargers.
Value dual-port charger with USB-C to Lightning cable
This 30-watt, dual-port charger delivers the full 30 watts of juice if used alone and 18 watts if used while charging a second device via the USB-A port, which delivers 12 watts of charging. It's a GaNFast charger, and it includes a USB-C to Lightning cable.
Best cheap fast wireless charging pad
No, this isn't a MagSafe charger -- but it doesn't cost $60, either. I like this RAVPower charging pad because it's relatively inexpensive and comes with a power adapter that allows you to get the faster 10-watt wireless charging speeds (some top out at 7.5 watts, and a lot of cheap wireless charging pads don't include a power adapter).
Solid all-around charger
Another good choice in the best all-around wall charger category is RAVPower's 65-watt dual-port charger. It's very similar to the Aukey and often costs within a few bucks of the same price. This is also a GaNFast charger.
Good charge-anything charger
Another GaNFast charge, this compact 65-watt USB-C charger will not only charge your iPhone at maximum speed (if you spring for a USB-C-to-Lightning cable), it also charges most USB-C charging laptops. Additionally, you can charge a second device via the USB-A port.
Ultraslim USB-C charger
This svelte Anker 30-watt charger with foldable plugs is pocket friendly and can charge your iPhone impressively fast with a USB-C-to-Lightning cable. Like many other compact chargers, this uses gallium nitride technology.