The Strange Parts channel tried to see if it was possible to charge an iPhone much faster than what Apple offers. In the first part of the video, one of the solutions looks like a DIY: he plugs in a hundred chargers at the same time and connects all the Lightning cables to the same outlet!
This amazing solution obviously has no impact on the charging time (which is a little lower than at the start), with just over 3 hours to go from 0 to 100% and maximum intensity of the order of 1 amp. The time may seem quite long, but he is indeed using an iPhone 8, a model that is not known for its fast charging.
In the second part, he decides to bypass the BMS ( Battery Management System, the component that controls the charge) by connecting the battery directly to the mains. We must be clear on one point: do not do this at home, it’s a very bad idea. What’s more, this method is not crowned with success: even with a power supply capable of providing an intensity of 90 A, the load is limited to 1.5 A, barely more than what the block delivered to the device offers era with the iPhone 8.
In the third part, he decides to try an even more astonishing solution: replacing LiPo (lithium-ion polymer) type cells with lithium-titanate cells. This fairly rare type of battery has advantages, such as very fast charging, but also disadvantages, with a fairly low energy density. Clearly, the capacity at the same volume is lower, which is obviously a problem in a smartphone. But with this choice, charging the battery externally takes 22 minutes to reach maximum capacity.
His latest test involves an even different technology: instead of a lithium-based battery, he uses a supercapacitor. A technology that once again has the advantage of charging very quickly (it accepts an intensity of 47 A) but its density is low. In this case, the supercapacitor is significantly larger than the original battery. According to the videographer, the chosen model offers twice the capacity of the LiPo battery at the same volume. On the other hand, the charging time is impressive: about 9 minutes. But the necessary equipment is quite imposing: the block (ventilated) must provide a voltage of the order of 4 V with an intensity of 47 A (nearly 200 W).
In any case, these experiments can be seen as fun, but the practical side is obviously not part of it. What’s more, even though iPhones aren’t known for their charging speeds, there have still been some advancements since the iPhone 8. The iPhone 14s, for example, can go from 0 to 100 percent more or less 1.5 hours, half the time of an iPhone 8, and the charging power is between 25-30W at the start of the charge, which can jump from 0-50% in about 30 minutes.
