Introduction

With the largest battery in the entire series and a 60Hz refresh rate display, the iPhone 15 Plus, not surprisingly, has the best battery life in the entire iPhone 15 series, just like the 14 Plus. Its battery capacity has also increased by about 60mAh compared to the previous generation, now at 4383mAh. So, how does its charging performance fare? Let's delve in!

Product Appearance

Battery KING? | Charging Review of Apple iPhone 15 Plus-Chargerlab

The packaging box follows the classic design of iPhones.

What we got is the black version with a storage capacity of 128GB.

The base model only got a USB2.0 port.

This is the included USB-C cable, just like the one we found on iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max.

And the connector adopts a special pin design.

ChargerLAB POWER-Z KM003C shows it doesn't have an E-marker chip.

The length of this cable is 1m (3' 3.37'').

Charging Compatibility Test

Next, let's starting with the compatibility part. Firstly, let's take a look at Apple's own chargers.

We tested all the Apple fast chargers from 18W to 96W. Plotting the data into a bar graph, we can see that the iPhone 15 Plus's maximum charging power is around 25W. That's pretty much the same as 14 Plus.

As for third-party chargers, a few models can surpass 26W, but they typically offer similar performance to Apple's chargers. In addition, the Honor 65W charger has a relatively low power output.

Power banks are also around 25W.

So does the portable power stations. Overall, they are all at the 25W level, and there are no issues with compatibility. Just like other iPhone 15 models.

Wireless Charging Test

It's worth noting that the iPhone 15 series, in addition to supporting the existing MagSafe charging, also supports the Qi2 wireless charging standard.

When charging the iPhone 15 Plus with the Apple MagSafe Charger, the power at the phone end is about 15W.

However, when using chargers that only support the Qi standard, the charging power is limited to 7.5W. When Qi2 wireless chargers hit the market, we'll be able to enjoy the same 15W fast charging experience as MagSafe at a lower price. Stay tuned for that!

Reverse Charging Test

The iPhone 15 series has introduced reverse charging feature, allowing it to charge several devices.

As you can see, using the Apple Watch's own cable, it can provide Apple Watch Ultra with power at 5.08V 0.5A or 2.66W. And it can also charge your wireless earbuds.

Furthermore, it can provide power of nearly 5W to your friends' iPhones or Android phones, which is pretty impressive. In fact, we've made a dedicated video for this exciting new feature, and you can watch it by clicking here.

Full Charging Test

Next, we'll use the Apple 35W dual USB-C traditional power adapter to fully charge the iPhone 15 Plus.

The voltage is around 9V at first, and the charging curve can be divided into five parts. In the first part, the peak power stayed around 26W for the first 22 mins. Then, the power gradually drops to 22W, 15W, and 8.5W in turn. Meanwhile, the voltage dropped to 5V at 46 mins. That's also when the final part begins, the power slowly drops to almost zero. It takes one hour and 42 mins to be fully charged.

We also turn it into another curve. The 35W charger can charge the iPhone 15 Plus to 50% in 24 mins. And it can reach 80% in 49 mins, 100% in one hour and 42 mins. This is 52 mins faster than the iPhone 14 Plus! However, this is simply because the trickle charging time has been significantly reduced.

Temperature Test

We also put the iPhone 15 Plus into a 25°C (77℉) thermotank throughout the test, and recorded the highest temperatures on the front and back at three different time points.

After 10 minutes of charging, the thermal imaging camera shows the highest temperature on the front is 37.2℃ (98.96°F).

The back temperature is slightly higher at 38.3°C (100.94°F).

After 30 minutes, the highest temperature on the front increased to 37.9°C (100.22°F).

The back is 38.7°C (101.66°F).

Just like other 15 models, after 60 minutes, the highest temperature on the front dropped to 28.9°C (84.02°F).

The back is 29.2°C (84.56°F).

From the bar graph, it can be seen that in the first 10 minutes, it has already become hotter than the hottest point of the iPhone 15. The lower temperature in the last 60 minutes is because the phone has entered the trickle charging mode, similar to other models of the iPhone 15 series.

Summary of ChargerLAB

Overall, the iPhone 15 Plus has significantly reduced its total charging time to just one hour and 42 minutes compared to iPhone 14 Plus! Plus, the compatibility remains excellent as always. And the reverse charging are excellent additions, serving as a delightful cherry on top. However, its maximum charging power is similar to the 14 Plus, and the temperature control falls behind than of the iPhone 15.

For those who prioritize battery life and don't need those fancy features of the Pro series, this phone is still an excellent choice.

Battery KING? | Charging Review of Apple iPhone 15 Plus