Abstract:
Apple iPhone 18 Pro Max has become the fastest charging iPhone currently. According to the latest tests and data released by Apple, this phone can increase the power from 0% to 50% in about 15 minutes, which is a significant improvement compared to the previous generation iPhone 17 Pro Max. However, the actual charging curve also shows that the iPhone 18 Pro Max does not maintain high power input throughout the entire process, but gradually reduces the charging power after the battery level increases.
This test shows that the iPhone 18 Pro Max battery has reached 34% after 10 minutes of charging, 50% after 15 minutes, and the system has shown that it is 100% full after about 55 minutes. However, even when the screen showed 100%, the phone continued to charge at low power until it stopped charging completely after about 76 minutes.
Apple officials also regard the fast charging capability of iPhone 18 Pro Max as one of the important upgrades of this generation of products. Official data shows that when using a USB-C power adapter that supports 60W or higher power and supports adjustable voltage power supply, iPhone 18 Pro Max can be charged to 50% in about 15 minutes. Apple also said that the iPhone 18 Pro Max can get up to about 7 hours of video playback life after just 5 minutes of wired charging.
From the perspective of actual power, the peak charging power of iPhone 18 Pro Max reaches a maximum of about 52W, which is significantly higher than the peak value of about 35W of the previous generation model. In a similar test, the iPhone 17 Pro Max could only reach about 38% of power in 15 minutes of charging, while a full charge took about 72 minutes. Therefore, the new iPhone not only increases the peak power, but also significantly shortens the entire charging process.
It should be noted that the "charge to 50% in 15 minutes" announced by Apple cannot be achieved using an ordinary low-power charger. According to Apple's technical specifications, users need to use a USB-C power adapter with a power of 60W or higher, and match it with a USB-C charging cable that supports the corresponding power. At the same time, the power adapter needs to support adjustable voltage power supply, which is AVS. Apple does not include a charger with the iPhone 18 Pro Max, so if you want to achieve the fastest charging speed officially advertised, you need to prepare additional qualifying charging equipment.
In contrast, the wireless charging speed of the iPhone 18 Pro series is still significantly slower than wired charging. When wirelessly charging via MagSafe, using a 35W or higher power adapter can boost the battery to 50% in about 30 minutes. The peak charging power of MagSafe and Qi2 mobile phones reaches 25W.
The increase in charging speed of the iPhone 18 Pro Max is related to the increase in battery capacity and the improvement in the efficiency of the A20 Pro chip. Apple said that the iPhone 18 Pro series uses a redesigned battery solution, which not only increases battery life through higher chip energy efficiency, but also provides conditions for faster wired charging. Especially for the iPhone 18 Pro Max, Apple claims that it has achieved the largest battery life improvement in the history of the iPhone.
However, the increase in charging speed does not mean that mobile phones will always run at more than 50W power. Like most modern smartphones, the iPhone 18 Pro Max dynamically adjusts input power based on the current battery level, temperature, and charging stage. High power can be maintained during low-power stages, and gradually decreases as the battery approaches full power to control battery temperature and reduce the impact of long-term high-load charging on the battery.
Even so, the iPhone 18 Pro Max still represents a clear leap forward for Apple in fast charging technology. In the past few years, Apple has not been able to catch up with some Android flagships in terms of charging power. However, the iPhone 18 Pro series has increased its wired charging capability to the 60W level for the first time, moving it further from the relatively conservative charging strategy in the past to a higher power solution.
From an absolute speed perspective, the iPhone 18 Pro Max has become the fastest charging iPhone in Apple’s history, but there is still a gap compared with some Android flagships. For example, the Galaxy S26 Ultra can reach about 51% power in 15 minutes in relevant tests, and the full charging time is about 43 minutes. However, the battery capacity of the Galaxy S26 Ultra is smaller than that of the iPhone 18 Pro Max, so simply comparing the percentage charging speed does not fully reflect the actual power obtained by the two phones.
For iPhone users, the biggest change of this generation is not the pursuit of extreme "zero to full" charging speed, but a significant improvement in the efficiency of short-term power replenishment. According to Apple's data, iPhone 18 Pro Max can get several hours of video playback time by just connecting to the charger for a few minutes; when users charge briefly before going out, this improvement will be more practical than the ten minutes saved by a full charge.
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