Is wired or wireless charging better for the phone? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each? If I have an iPhone 16 and use a wired charger, is there any reason to buy a wireless charger? Thank you.
[Re-Titled by Moderator]
iPhone 16, iOS 18
mitsguy2001 wrote:
Thank you. How exactly is wireless more convenient? If you have to use the phone while charging, isn't it easier to just have a cable connecting it to a charger via the USB port, rather than having to place it on a wireless charger? The wireless charger isn't really wireless, since it still has to be plugged into the wall. Seems I am missing something.
In any case, I don't think Apple makes a wireless charger. Is there one that you recommend, or should I not bother?
Yes they do; it’s called a MagSafe charger.
Also, is there a portable charger that you recommend for the iPhone 16? Thank you.
Anker, Griffin and any other certified as Made for iPhone.
An interesting, often ignored fact: Wired charging is “greener;” Wireless charging uses more energy in the charging process than wired, because there is some inefficiency in the wireless energy transfer. You can see this in Apple’s guidance to use a 20 watt power source for wired charging or a 30 watt for MagSafe charging.
Thank you. Sounds like there may be some good reasons to switch to wireless charging. Is damage to the charging port a common problem? Does wireless charging damage the battery?
Whether wired or wireless, there is an option to charge to less than 100%. I currently have it set to 100%. What do you recommend setting it to?
Thank you.
I usually have my phone plugged into my car's USB port in order to listen to music on the phone. I'm sure that's very bad for the battery, but I have an older car without CarPlay. And, with a BlueTooth connection rather than wired, there is no way to select music while driving.
My case has a protector for the port. Hopefully that in itself doesn't damage the port. I have Optimized Charging enabled, and automatic backups. I assume both of those work with both wired and wireless charging?
My case has a protector for the port, so hopefully that will help. Hope that the case doesn't case any problems in itself.
The main reason I'm asking ("overthinking", as you say) is because my batteries seem to go bad before everybody else's battery goes bad. I need this new phone to work well for at least 3 years.
Wired charging is faster and more reliable, while wireless charging offers convenience and reduces cable wear. If you need speed, wired is better, but if convenience is important, you can try wireless.
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To give more background information:
It seems that every past phone I've had, the charging port becomes less reliable as time goes on. I'm already concerned that the protector that my current phone's case has may, ironically, be damaging the port. What do you think? I think most of the damage was likely because I usually plug it in to my car's USB port in order to listen to music.
Back when I bought the iPhone 8, I was sold a wireless charger, since I was told (perhaps inaccurately) that wired charging damages the battery. But, much of the time, the wireless charger didn't actually charge the battery, so I quickly gave up on it. Plus, I read (perhaps inaccurately) that wireless charging damages the battery. A few years later, when I got the iPhone SE (3rd generation), I was told that both USB-A chargers and wireless chargers damage the battery, so I was told a USB-C charger, which worked really well. I was told that plugging it into my car won't significantly damage the battery. When I got the iPhone 16, I was again told that wireless charging damages the battery.
So, if I'm overthinking it, it's because there is so much misinformation out there, and I have no way of knowing what is accurate or inaccurate. And sometimes it's just based on experiences. If somebody uses, for example, wireless charging, and their battery is a lemon, they may assume that the wireless charging was the cause, even if not.
I'm just as concerned about damaging the USB-C port as I am concerned about the battery, especially since it seems that I unknowingly damaged ports before, and I am also concerned about the case.
mitsguy2001 wrote:
So, if I'm overthinking it, it's because there is so much misinformation out there, and I have no way of knowing what is accurate or inaccurate. And sometimes it's just based on experiences. If somebody uses, for example, wireless charging, and their battery is a lemon, they may assume that the wireless charging was the cause, even if not.
I'm just as concerned about damaging the USB-C port as I am concerned about the battery, especially since it seems that I unknowingly damaged ports before, and I am also concerned about the case.
My solution, tape up the port or buy a rubber bung, and use Magsafe, wifi, and bluetooth for everything.
All my phones have degraded on a curve which seems to level out at 83%. It keeps Apple in Applecare+ revenue, by design probably.
The charger doesn't matter as long as it provides enough power. The iPhone manages the charging process and does so to optimize the battery health. It does that whether you're charging from a wired or wireless charger and whether it's an Apple or Samsung or knock-off Chinese charger. The main thing that affects battery life is not the charger, it's how you use the phone. If you spend 23 hours a day streaming videos at full volume then your battery will degrade faster than if you just check your emails twice a day.
[Edited by Moderator]
My car is too old to have Carplay. If I connect through BlueTooth, I cannot select what music to play other than by manually selecting it on the phone, which is not an option when driving. If I connect with a cable, I can use voice commands to pick music.
mitsguy2001 wrote:
Not an option for me, since I can't select what music to listen to if I connect to my car via BlueTooth. It has to be wired.
No, it doesn't. Why can't you use Siri?
My car doesn't have CarPlay. It doesn't even have Bluetooth. I use an Amazon Auto Echo to connect my iPhone to my car without plugging anything into the phone. There are lots of other devices that will accomplish the same thing. Then, I have a MagSafe charger attached to my vent clip. When I get into the car, I stick the phone on the MagSafe charger and use Siri for anything I need to do on the phone. Note that my setup requires an AUX jack.
mitsguy2001 wrote:
Can't use Siri while driving. If I try to, it says that the phone needs to be unlocked, and that they don't recommend unlocking it while driving. Yes, it actually says that.
Then you need to fix the Siri settings. Make sure it's set to work while the phone is locked. My phone is not connected to my car by wires and I have no problem using Siri to select music or to use Maps or send messages. My phone can be unconnected to anything, just sitting on the seat of the car next to me and I can do those things.
Regardless of settings, how do I use Siri when the phone is locked? I don't think it's possible. Plus, even when the phone is unlocked, it always misunderstands what I'm trying to say. I'll ask it to play a song, and it instead calls somebody who I don't want to call.
Also, how do you get Siri to play music from the iTunes library? Even when the phone is unlocked, and even when it doesn't mishear my command, it seems random where it tries to look for music.
mitsguy2001 wrote:
Regardless of settings, how do I use Siri when the phone is locked? I don't think it's possible.
I just told you it's possible. I do it every time I'm in the car.
Also, how do you get Siri to play music from the iTunes library? Even when the phone is unlocked, and even when it doesn't mishear my command, it seems random where it tries to look for music.
"Siri, play music by Dengue Fever." Music by Dengue Fever starts playing. For me, it just works.
IdrisSeabright wrote:
mitsguy2001 wrote:
Regardless of settings, how do I use Siri when the phone is locked? I don't think it's possible.
I just told you it's possible. I do it every time I'm in the car.
I'm not denying that it's possible. I'm just asking you how you do it, since I obviously don't know how to.
Also, how do you get Siri to play music from the iTunes library? Even when the phone is unlocked, and even when it doesn't mishear my command, it seems random where it tries to look for music.
"Siri, play music by Dengue Fever." Music by Dengue Fever starts playing. For me, it just works.
For me, it's random. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it attempts to get me to sign up for Apple Music. Sometimes it creates a Pandora station. Sometimes it tries to upgrade my Pandora account. Sometimes it does nothing at all. Totally random. I'm talking about when not in car and able to unlock phone.
mitsguy2001 wrote:
I'm not denying that it's possible. I'm just asking you how you do it, since I obviously don't know how to.
You said, " I don't think it's possible."
As I noted earlier you go to Settings and enable it. Settings>Apple Intelligence & Siri>Allow Siri When Locked and turn it on. That's all I ever needed to do.
For me, it's random. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it attempts to get me to sign up for Apple Music. Sometimes it creates a Pandora station. Sometimes it tries to upgrade my Pandora account. Sometimes it does nothing at all. Totally random. I'm talking about when not in car and able to unlock phone.
I don't know what to tell you. I do have Spotify on my phone but, unless I specifiy Spotify ("Siri, play The Rolling Stones on Spotify"), it defaults to Music.
How do I choose between wired and wireless charging for my iPhone?
