The best iPhone charger in 2023: wired and wireless ways to power your iPhone
Charge your iPhone to 100%, quickly and easily, with the best iPhone chargers on the market today
What's the best iPhone charger for your needs? Well, that largely depends if you want a wired or wireless charger. The broad rule of thumb is that wired charging is faster, but wireless charging is more convenient.
With wireless charging, you can just pop your phone onto the pad, or connect it magnetically if MagSafe is compatible, and let it do its work. You may not even have to remove your phone from its case, depending on the case thickness. (If you're looking for a new case, by the way, see our guides to the best phone cases, as well as cases for the latest iPhone 14 Pro, or iPhone 14 Pro Max cases, plus cases for the iPhone 13 too.)
With wireless charging, you don't have the inconvenience of plugging and unplugging, which tends to wear out the cable over time, and can damage your iPhone socket. However, there are disadvantages to wireless charging, notably that you can't use your phone while it's charging. Also, wired chargers tend to have a higher wattage to power up your phone faster.
Below, we've rounded up the best iPhone chargers of both types, and provided the facts you need to choose between them. We’ll start with the best wired iPhone chargers. However, if you don't like cables, jump to the best iPhone wireless chargers.
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It probably won't surprise you to hear that the best iPhone charger you can buy today comes from the same company that makes the iPhone itself.
With any iPhone from 8 onwards, you can take advantage of fast charging, which can get you up to 50% in 30 minutes, and you can use it to power other USB-enabled devices, such as iPads, too.
It's got a lovely compact design, with a sleek and minimal look that will fit in nicely with the rest of your Apple kit. And unlike many official Apple products, it's not much more expensive than third-party rivals. Note, though, that like all the wired chargers on this list, it doesn't come with a cable, and you’ll need to buy that separately. See our roundup of the best iPhone charger cables if you need help with that.
The main drawback of the Apple 20W USB-C Power Adapter is that you can only charge one device at a time. But as long as that's not a deal-breaker for you, this is the best wired iPhone charger you can buy today.
If you’re on a tight budget, this is the best value iPhone charger around. Admittedly, you won't make a great saving on buying the official Apple charger (number one on our list), but every little helps, right? And it still does a great job of powering up your iPhone, with 20W of power making it just as speedy as Apple's pricier option.
As the name suggests, the Anker Nano 20W iPhone charger is nice and compact too, making it great for commuting and travel. In short, if you don't care about having the official iPhone charger, then why not save a little cash on this great alternative? Just note that, like the former, you need to buy a separate cable, and you can only charge one device at a time.
Like the idea of charging multiple devices at once? Then our top recommendation for iPhone users is the UGreen 65W USB C Charger. With three USB-C ports and one USB-A port, you’ll be able to re-energise your iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and whatever else you need simultaneously with this super-versatile charger. And while that does make it costly, the time and effort you’ll save may well make that worth it.
With 65W of juice on offer, you’ll even be able to charge your MacBook Pro or MacBook Air, as well as a host of other devices from the latest iPads to your Nintendo Switch Game Console. And with a weight of just 176g, it's still pretty portable too.
If you’re attracted to multi device charging, but four ports seems like overkill, then here's a good halfway house. The Anker 30W 2-port Fast Charger has a USB-C port, which delivers 18W and can charge an iPhone 13 to 50% in just 25 minutes. Plus it also boasts a USB-A port, which offers 12W of power.
The overall design, meanwhile, remains pretty compact, and as it's not much more expensive than the single-port chargers listed above. So if you’re likely to want to charge two devices at once, this will save you money and space over buying two separate chargers.
If you want an easy way to charge your iPhone, the best wireless option again comes from Apple itself. Its design is typically simple, elegant and optimised for Apple devices. The charger contain magnets that snap to your iPhone 12 or 13 beautifully, and allows it to charge at a speedy 15W. Admittedly, this isn't as fast as Apple's wired charger (see above), but it isn't far off either.
It can also charge older iPhones, going back as version 8, although at slower speeds. The charger is attached to a 1m-long cable, which gives you a lot of flexibility in where you place it. Note, though, there's no plug at the other end: this needs to be bought separately.
Looking for the best iPhone wireless charger at a low price? Here's our recommendation. Nanami Fast Wireless Charger acts as both a charger and a stand, so you could potentially watch movies or listen to music while charging your iPhone, and you can position it in either portrait or landscape mode.
This wireless charger supports most phone cases under 0.2in thick, and features colored lights to indicate charging status. Usefully, a blue light will flash if your iPhone isn't properly aligned.
This charger provides 7.5W of power to iPhones 8 and above, as well as up to 10W to Samsung phones, although note that if you want the fastest speeds, you'll need to buy a QuickCharge adapter separately.
Want to wirelessly charge multiple devices simultaneously? Then here's our top pick. This 3-in-1 dock combines a wireless charging stand, a charging pad, and a magnetic charging module for the Apple Watch, and works with most Qi-enabled devices. That means you can power up your iPhone, AirPods, and Apple Watch all at once. It comes with a 1.5m-long cable and power adapter.
Both the stand and pad are designed in a square shape, making it easy to hit the charging zone. It works with most cases up to 3.5 mm thick, and a glowing light shows that devices are charging. The dock supplies up to 7.5W of power to your iPhone, and up to 9W for Samsung phones. It's compatible with all versions of Apple Watch, and both AirPods and AirPods Pro. None of this comes cheap, but you can do an awful lot with it.
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If you want to charge multiple devices, and prefer to get Apple-approved products, here's a quality, if expensive, option for you. It supports MagSafe charging of the iPhone, Apple Watch and Airpods at the same time, all from a compact foldable box. If you need the speed, there is support for fast charging. It can handle up to 30W total, which means it’ll do as well as Apple's standard chargers.
Better yet, not only does it fold away neatly into a cube, but when open the MagSafe lid supports the phone as a stand at up to 60˚. This makes it a handy stand, able to support any MagSafe charged iPhone horizontally or vertically.
That it's weighty enough to counterbalance the device might be the only downside to this elegant cube. It's lighter than others, but it still more than the jumble of cables it might replace; that's a choice you need to make when you pack your bag – in one spot it is neat and functional. For more details, see our Anker 3-in-1 Cube with Magsafe review.
If you’re watching the pennies, the Belkin 3-in-1 wireless charger provides multi-device charging at a more affordable price than the previous two products on our list. You can use it to charge your iPhone up to 7.5W, and Apple Watch and AirPods at 5W. It charges through most plastic cases up to 3mm in thickness. And at just 360g, it's pretty light for a multi-device charger.
Overall, it's less high powered than the Logitech dock, but at this significantly lower price, that may be a compromise you're willing to make.
• You might also want to check out the best iPhone printers , the best iphone charging cables and the best iPhone microphones .
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Tom May is a freelance writer and editor specializing in art, photography, design and travel. He has been editor of Professional Photography magazine, associate editor at Creative Bloq, and deputy editor at net magazine. He has also worked for a wide range of mainstream titles including The Sun, Radio Times, NME, T3, Heat, Company and Bella.
• You might also want to check out the best iPhone printers , the best iphone charging cables and the best iPhone microphones .