David Carnoy Executive Editor / Reviews
Executive Editor David Carnoy has been a leading member of CNET’s Reviews team since 2000. He covers the gamut of gadgets and is a notable reviewer of mobile accessories and portable audio products, including headphones and speakers. He’s also an e-reader and e-publishing expert as well as the author of the novels Knife Music, The Big Exit and Lucidity. All the titles are available as Kindle, iBooks, Nook e-books and audiobooks.
- Maggie Award for Best Regularly Featured Web Column/Consumer
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Value dual-port charger with USB-C to Lightning cable
RAVPower 30W 2-Port USB-C Fast Charger (with USB-A) (Update: Currently Unavailable)
Apple hopped on the USB-C ship with the iPhone 15 but not everyone is ready to leave the Lightning cable behind. If you’re among those rocking an iPhone 14, charging your phone with the best chargers is essential to keeping that phone in good condition for as long as possible. While the wattage is important, there are other factors you’ll need to consider before picking up a fast charger.
While Apple has a budget USB-C charger, there are several attractive alternatives that can be considered to be among the best wireless and wired iPhone chargers. We’ve rounded up some of our favorite Apple device chargers to give a boost to your battery life. A few quick ground rules before we start:
- You’ll need a charger with a USB-C port, or you’ll need to get a USB-A-to-USB-C adapter. At the prices below, you might as well just get a new charger for your Apple product.
- Chargers with USB-C or PD (power delivery) support can generally charge devices faster than chargers with USB-A ports.
- Two ports are always better than one, allowing you to charge two phones at once, or a phone and an accessory like wireless headphones.
- Higher wattage is better up to a point. But getting 18 watts or better will allow you to charge tablets and even a Nintendo Switch. Get 65 watts or more and you can charge most newer laptops, too.
- Many of these new chargers use a new, fast semiconductor material called gallium nitride, aka GaN, that’s replacing the old, slow, silicon chip. Chargers with “GaNFast” have a charging speed up to three times faster than traditional chargers — and they’re half the size and weight. They’re compatible with everything in today’s Apple range, from AirPods and iPhones all the way to the big 16-inch MacBook Pro. They might not be optimal for models older than the iPhone 12, though.
- Every charger here can also juice up an Android phone (so long as you supply a compatible charging cord or USB cable) as well as a Nintendo Switch.
Though there are a plethora of charging brands available, including some generic ones on Amazon that offer 20-watt USB-C chargers for as low as $9 for a three-pack, we can broadly recommend three phone charger brands: Anker, Aukey, and RAVPower. All three have similar offerings at similar wattage, and prices fluctuate almost daily. Our latest Apple iPhone favorites are below, including some power bank (battery), wireless, charging stand, and car options. We’ve used all these over the past few months (or their direct predecessors).
None of these incorporate the new Apple MagSafe charger technology — an upgrade from the Lightning connector. That’s brand new and will have a price premium for the foreseeable future — don’t expect to pay less than $35.
We’ve tested most, but not all, of these chargers with the previous-generation iPhone 12 and iPhone 13. We’ll update this periodically with more current picks for the iPhone 14 so you can find a great deal on one of the best iPhone charger options you can grab to stay powered up.
Read more: Best iPhone 14 Cases So Far
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The Anker Nano II 30-watt is a next-generation fast charger powered by gallium nitride technology. It’s about the same size as the original 20-watt Nano charger but delivers more fast charging power. The Nano II will not only charge your phone but a MacBook Air, iPad and other Apple devices. Anker also sells 45- and 65-watt chargers. Read our first take on Anker’s Nano II chargers.
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Anker’s Nano is literally the size of old Apple’s 5-watt USB charger that used to ship with iPhones but offers 20-watt charging. Featuring Anker’s PowerIQ 3.0 technology, it charges more than 2.5x faster than that 5-watt charger (with a USB-C-to-Lightning cable). It was recently upgraded from 18 to 20 watts.
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A GaNFast charger, Spigen’s 20-watt ArcStation Pro is one of the smallest fast-charging USB-C chargers you’ll find. While the Anker Nano is a bit smaller, it doesn’t have a foldable plug like this model. Using a USB-C-to-Lightning cable, it charges close to three times faster than Apple’s standard 5-watt USB charger.
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This 30-watt, dual-port charger delivers the full 30 watts of juice if used alone and 18 watts if used while charging a second device via the USB-A port, which delivers 12 watts of charging. It’s a GaNFast charger, and it includes a USB-C to Lightning cable.
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This svelte Anker 30-watt charger with foldable plugs is pocket friendly and can charge your iPhone impressively fast with a USB-C-to-Lightning cable. Like many other compact chargers, this uses gallium nitride technology.
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I originally had an Aukey cigarette-lighter power adapter on this list, but it’s out of stock and this low-profile Ainope mini fast USB Car Charger offers even faster charging (up 24 watts) and costs less. It has both a USB-C and USB-A port so you can charge two devices at the same time, but to get 15-watt wireless charging, you’re going to be better off charging one device.
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Yes, a 100-watt charger is overkill for charging your phone. But if you want a charger that can charge any USB-C laptop, including the 16-inch MacBook Pro (which happens to be my work computer), the Baseus 100W GaN II Fast Charger is the latest and greatest high-wattage fast-charging USB-C charger. As its name implies, it features GaN II technology. It’s both significantly smaller than earlier 100-watt chargers and more energy efficient, so it doesn’t heat up as much. It adapts to whatever device you’re charging, delivering the highest charging speed that the device is capable of.
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Nimble is all about making its products from recycled plastics, and not having any plastic in its packaging. Its Wally Mini is a dual-port 20-watt PD charger with fast-charging capabilities. You can charge two devices at once, but to get to top charging speed for your iPhone you’ll need to connect it using a USB-C-to-Lightning cable (to the USB-C port) without having any other devices connected to the USB-A port.
It has retractable prongs, is quite compact and also feels pretty light. If you didn’t know it was made out of recycled plastic, you might not guess that it was. But since I did know, I did think, “Yes, this feels like recycled plastic.” Not that it feels bad, but it does look and feel a little different.
Nimble also includes a bag in the box for your e-waste items. If your old electronics product is on Nimble’s list of approved electronics for recycling, you can print out a free shipping label to send in your gear for recycling.
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No, this isn’t a MagSafe charger — but it doesn’t cost $60, either. I like this RAVPower charging pad because it’s relatively inexpensive and comes with a power adapter that allows you to get the faster 10-watt wireless charging speeds (some top out at 7.5 watts, and a lot of cheap wireless charging pads don’t include a power adapter).
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Another good choice in the best all-around wall charger category is RAVPower’s 65-watt dual-port charger. It’s very similar to the Aukey and often costs within a few bucks of the same price. This is also a GaNFast charger.
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Another GaNFast charge, this compact 65-watt USB-C charger will not only charge your iPhone at maximum speed (if you spring for a USB-C-to-Lightning cable), it also charges most USB-C charging laptops. Additionally, you can charge a second device via the USB-A port.
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This Power Bank from Aukey has both wired and wireless charging options. If you use the USB-C port, you can get 18 watts of charging. Go wireless and lay your phone on the charging dock battery and it will wirelessly charge at 10 watts, which is where the iPhone currently maxes out for wireless charging. You’re paying a premium, but this phone charger unit has a massive battery (20,000 mAh), a built-in kickstand and a digital readout listing the remaining charge. It comes with a USB-A-to-USB-C cable, but you’ll need to supply an adapter to charge it.
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Looking for a compact single-port fast-charger? Aukey has a number of options that won’t put a dent in your bank account.
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