One of the things people expect on a 2017 flagship phone is the ability to fast charge, a blessing for people who want their device juiced up quickly. Android devices have been offering this for years now, but Apple hasn't. Until the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, of course.
Apple's newest flagship devices now support fast charging. Apple fans no longer have to contend with long wait times just to charge their devices — they can now juice up to 50 percent in just 30 minutes. But as always, there are caveats.
Apple's fast charging feature requires users to buy a separate adapter for $50 and a USB-C to Lightning cable for $25 — that's a whopping $75 on top of the iPhone 8's retail price of $699.
iPhone 8 Fast Charging Trick
But as The Unlockr discovered, there's absolutely no need to drop an extra $75 — suppose users have an iPad charger lying around, that is.
It's highly likely that users who have an iPhone also have an iPad, anyway. That's great because they can use the tablet's charger to charge their iPhone quicker than its regular charger is able to.
Fortunately, iPad chargers still work with the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, but just how fast are they compared to using Apple's $75 fast charging setup? Well, not by much.
How To Fast Charge Your iPhone 8 Without Buying A Special Charger
The Unlockr tested both chargers using the same iPhone 8 Plus with an empty battery and found that while the fast charger charged the phone faster, it wasn't a significant lead over the iPad charger. Apple's fast charger juiced up the iPhone 8 Plus completely in an hour and 55 minutes, while the iPad charger finished the same job in 2 hours and 7 minutes — a difference of 12 minutes, which is pretty impressive.
So, take note, iPad users: the iPad charger will work nearly as well as Apple's $75 fast charger to juice the iPhone 8. This makes it unnecessary to drop $75 for those who already have an iPad charger lying around. But those who don't will have to end up buying it if they want fast charging. Bummer.
Those unwilling to drop that much cash may look into other alternatives. Purchasing a power bank, for instance, might be a better solution for those whose professions require them to be on the go at all times. Scenarios similar to this call for a power bank instead of a fast charger, anyway.
