It’s not a huge secret that Apple bundled a weaker charger than the iPhone 6 & iPhone 6 Plus support. The bigger surprise is that Apple is far from alone.
iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, in case you weren’t aware, can charge faster when supplied with the 2.1A charger that comes with Apple’s iPad. This is completely safe, and won’t wear down your iPhone’s battery. In fact, charging faster can – to some limited degree – enhance the life of your phone’s battery.
Why did Apple do this? They won’t say (many have asked them, we’re not going to waste time doing so). But it likely boils down to cost. A 1A charger is cheaper to make, and charges smartphones at a reasonably-fast rate.
But the big surprise, is that many other phones, like the Motorola E 2nd Generation, can also charge at faster speeds. We’ve seen some SKUs of the Moto E ship with 500 mAh (.5A) chargers. But, testing using our power meter, we tested with the Legion Meter in-house, we’ve seen it request and use 1A when provided.
The bottom line is, if your phone is pretty modern, you may want to invest in a 1 amp or 2 amp charger and see if it speeds up your charging time. It won’t hurt your phone, and worst-case, you’ll get a spare charger out of it.
