iPhone 12 No Charger Issue? Here's Why, and Best iPhone 12 Chargers to Buy

With the launch of the iPhone 12, Apple isn’t only bringing changes to the new iPhones but is also to the retail box that the phone comes in. Similar to what happened to the 2020 Watch Series, the iPhone 12 series will not ship with a charger.

In this post, we’ll explain what you get in the box when you purchase an iPhone 12, why you won’t see a charging adapter with the retail unit, and a list of alternate power adapters that you can buy for your new phone.

What comes inside the iPhone 12 box?

When you get the retail box after buying the iPhone 12, you will get the following content:

Your iPhone 12 (obviously!)
A USB-C-to-Lightning cable
Documentation

And that’s pretty much it. Yes, you guessed it right! The iPhone 12 no longer comes with a wall charger/adapter out-of-the-box, unlike previous iPhones. Besides this, the new iPhone will also not receive any in-box wired headphones for the same reason that it’s ditching to put the charger inside the box. We’ll explain why below.

Why isn’t a charging adapter alongside the iPhone 12?

It’s pretty clear that the newest of the iPhones don’t come with a power adapter inside the box and Apple is citing its stand against unnecessary carbon emissions as the sole reason behind taking away this basic utility. The Cupertino company wants to tackle E-waste and the pollution caused by it as it aims to remove e-waste that’s equivalent to disengaging 450,000 cars off the road per year.

Although the initiative looks admirable, one can’t help but feel cynical about Apple’s messaging, and from the looks of it, it’s Apple that appears to benefit the most from its “environmental” stance. Apple’s decision to remove the charger and the earbuds will be more beneficial to itself than anything.

By removing the charger and earbuds, Apple not only saves money on the production of such accessories but also increase their margins by selling them separately. Another area that has benefited Apple is the low shipping costs for the new iPhones due to the fact that the devices now come in a smaller box, which reduces the overall weight of the retail box.

Can you use your older Apple charger on iPhone 12?

Yes. While you can plug in any lightning cable chargers that you previously had, the USB-C-to-Lightning cable that comes with your iPhone 12 can only be used with the charging brick or adapter that was available with last year’s iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max devices. You can use the older adapters with these combinations:

Any Apple 5W USB power adapter (2018 or older) with Lightning to USB Cable
Apple 18W USB-C Power Adapter (2019) with USB-C to Lightning Cable
Lightning to USB Cable plugged into any USB port on PC, laptops, Mac
USB-C to Lightning Cable plugged into any MacBook with USB-C port
Any Qi-certified wireless chargers that you previously owned
30W USB-C Power Adapter (available with 13-inch MacBook Air with Retina display) and USB-C to Lightning Cable

What can you do now?

If you never owned an iPhone before or you no longer have your old iPhone power adapter, then you will have to spend some more and get yourself a USB-C Power Adapter that you can plug your USB-C to Lightning cable that comes alongside the iPhone 12 out-of-the-box.

We recommend you get yourself a USB-C Power Adapter for the fact that it’s future-proof and delivers charge faster than a traditional USB power adapter.

Best iPhone 12 chargers you can buy

Following is a list of iPhone 12 power adapters that you can use to charge your new iPhone 12. Keep in mind that this list only provides you a charging solution for your iPhone and iPhone alone, meaning you won’t be able to charge your other devices at the same time.

Apple 20W USB-C power adapter – $19.00

Apple is offering its own 20W power brick that supports fast charging and can be used with the in-box USB-C-to-Lightning cable.

MagSafe Charger – $39.00

With the release of the iPhone 12, Apple also unveiled the MagSafe Charger that is essentially a charger puck that magnetically attaches to the back of your device and provides faster wireless charging up to 15W. The MagSafe Charger is Qi-certified and can also be used to wirelessly charge iPhone 8 or newer devices as well.

Apple 30W USB-C Power Adapter – $49.00

The new iPhone 12 series isn’t the only Apple device that comes with USB-C fast charging. The company also sells a 30W USB‑C Power Adapter to power the 13-inch MacBook Air with Retina display. This adapter can be used to charge iPhone and iPad Pro and on the product’s compatibility page, Apple has enlisted the iPhone 12/mini/Pro/Pro Max.

AmazonBasics 18W One-Port USB-C Wall Charger – $16.99

Amazon offers its 18-watt AmazonBasics One-Port USB-C Wall Charger that’s available for $16.99 and can be purchased with 2-port or 4-port options. For safety, the wall adapter offers over-current protection, protection against over-voltage, over-heating, and short-circuiting.

Aukey Minima 18W USB C Charger – $13.99

Similar to AmazonBasics, Aukey provides its own Minima 18W iPhone Fast Charger that offers support for iPhone 12/12 Mini/12 Pro/12 Pro Max. The compact charger has a foldable plug to be used on-the-go and is also compatible with a broad range of other smartphones.

Anker 30W USB-C Charger with Power Delivery – $27.99

Powered by a gallium nitride system, this Anker 30W USB-C Charger can be used to charge your iPhone 12 series faster than a stock power brick. The adapter is smaller than a MacBook power brick and comes with 18-month worry-free customer service support.

Belkin USB-C PD GaN Charger 30W – $29.99

Belkin has stacked up a single-port 30W Charger that claims to charge your iPhone from zero to 50% in 30 minutes with support for a wide range of other devices. The power adapter is made of Gallium nitride transistors that produce less heat and have a smaller footprint than other chargers.

RAVPower 30W PD 3.0 GaN USB C Wall Charger – $15.99

RAVPower’s 30W PD 3.0 GaN Wall Charger not only offers fast charging but also supports Apple’s Power Delivery 3.0 technology.

All the above chargers listed above except for the MagSafe Charger are wired adapters which will need you to plug in the USB-C to Lightning cable that Apple has provided to connect the adapter to the iPhone 12. Like its predecessors, the new iPhone also supports charging via Qi-certified wireless chargers. You can thus buy the following two wireless chargers to juice up your iPhone 12 if you don’t wish to get a MagSafe charger from Apple.

Belkin Wireless Charger 15W – $39.99

The Boost Charge Wireless Charging Pad from Belkin is designed to get you 15W fast wireless charging and Qi-charging support. With this charger, you will also be able to power your existing AirPods 2 and AirPods Pro devices, although not simultaneously.

Anker PowerWave 15 Wireless Charger 15W with USB-C – $39.99

This Anker Wireless Charger is Qi-Certified and though it supports 15W wireless charging on other smartphones, the device can only power iPhones at 7.5W. The charging pad support both Quick Charge or USB-C Power Delivery technologies and can charge your iPhone 12 even with a case on.

Will future iPhones and iPads also NOT come with a charger out-of-the-box?

It’s very likely. Like what happened to the long-lost headphone jack that disappeared with the release of the iPhone 7, we can expect Apple to stick with its decision to not include a charger out-of-the-box with future iPhones and iPads. It’s thus advisable to buy yourself a multi-port charging adapter that you can use to power up all the devices present in your home.

Best multiple-port chargers for all your devices

If you own an iPhone 12, there’s a chance that you also own other electronic devices like an iPad, MacBook, laptop, or another smartphone. If you’re sharing your space with someone else or if you’re living with your family and friends, then you might want to buy a charger that offers multiple ports for charging various devices at once.

We’ve compiled a list of the best 5 port and 3 port fast chargers that you can purchase online which you can read in the link below.

▶ Best fast chargers with 5 ports and 3 ports

What do you have to say about Apple removing the charging adapter in the iPhone 12 box? Do you think it’s alright for a good cause? Let us know what you feel in the comments.

RELATED