The iPhone 12 is Apple’s first smartphone that includes 5G connectivity. It is also their first iPhone that doesn’t include a charger or earbuds with purchase. The new iPhone comes with the phone, a Lightning-to-USB-C cable, and (of course) that Apple sticker we all can’t wait to get our hands on. And when buying the iPhone 12, you are sure to be asked if you want that $29.99 USB-C Charger so you can charge your phone. But do you really need the charger?
Probably not.
If you’ve bought any iPhone or iPad in the past 8 years, you already have everything you need to charger your new iPhone 12 Pro Max (or whatever model you plan to buy). The trick here is that the iPhone 12 comes with a Lightning to “USB-C” cable instead of the old Lightning to USB-A. This new cable won’t fit into your old charger… but your old cable works perfectly fine.
The new charger will help charger your iPhone 12 faster. Apple’s official USB-C charger is 20 watts, which provides more power than even the 15 watt iPad chargers. The new iPhone 12 sucks up a little more energy than the old ones, so it may need to power up more often. But if you usually find that your iPhone lasts all day, the iPhone 12 probably won’t be any different, and no matter the wattage, the older chargers will work just fine for overnight power-ups.
If you don’t want to waste $29.99 and you have your old cable/charger, pass on the new one until you’ve tried out your old equipment. If you find yourself needing to charge multiple times during the day, perhaps the expense is worth it. And instead of the USB-C charger, you might be better off with the new MagSafe charger that saves you the hassle of actually plugging a cable into your phone!
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