The initial wave of reviews for the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max are starting to roll in, with them universally finding that Apple's implementation of Qi charging on the new models hasn't increased the power, but has instead improved efficiency of the technology. When Apple announced the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max, it briefly touched on improved wireless charging, without delving into specifics. An assortment of reviews on Tuesday discussing the phone have found that while it is faster, it isn't an increase in wattage leading to the slightly faster charging. Nilay Patel from The Verge, and, Matthew Panzarino from TechCrunch both noted the slightly increased speed in charging. Patel said that in real-world use, the improvements summed up to iPhone XS achieving a full charge roughly 30 minutes faster than the iPhone X. This isn't a life-changing speed increase, but it is certainly beneficial. Plus, no new charger is required to take advantage of the faster speeds. However, more notable than the very slight speed increase is a slightly more forgiving placement on any charging pad that Apple's refinements have allowed. Apple has apparently implemented greater charging coil movement on the iPhone XS series versus the iPhone 8 and iPhone X, allowing users to not have to be quite as precise placing the iPhone down on the pad.<doc-sep>It is likely that people upgrading their smartphone to the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, or iPhone XR may want to take advantage of the wireless charging functionality offered by them all. AppleInsider highlights some of the best Qi wireless chargers available on the market to power your iPhone XS, XS Max or XR. Introduced with the iPhone X last year, wireless charging is a great way to recharge an iPhone, without needing to connect a Lightning cable. Instead, the iPhone is placed on top of the charger, positioned in line with an embedded charging coil which transfers power to the iPhone's battery. Generally speaking, wireless charging is not the fastest way to apply charge to your device, as current iPhone wireless charging is limited to 7.5 Watts in the iPhone X and iPhone 8, following an upgrade from the 5 Watt limit at launch. By contrast, a wired connection can take advantage of Apple's other wall chargers offering far higher power transfers. While wired charging is faster, wireless charging offers more convenience, in that all you have to do to start the charging progress is to place the iPhone down on a surface. This also makes using an iPhone as a clock far easier, as there's no fumbling to plug the cable in before falling asleep, nor to unplug it when waking up or needing to answer an important early morning call. What follows is a selection of wireless charging stations that may be worth considering if you intend to try out wireless charging for the first time. As they are universal accessories, compatible with practically any device using the Qi wireless charging standard, owners of the iPhone X and iPhone 8 can also take advantage of these mats and docks for their existing handsets. It is also worth a look for those who are waiting for Apple to release its AirPower wireless charging mat. Apple revealed it last year, but has stayed quiet about the product for over a year with no sign of releasing it soon, making buying one of the currently-available mats a decent and cheap alternative until Apple ships AirPower. Anker PowerWave 7.5 Fast Wireless Charging Pad For those wanting a simple charging mat, the Anker PowerWave 7.5 Fast Wireless Charging Pad is a good option, providing up to 10W charging for some devices. Supplied with a Quick Charge 3.0 wall charger and a 6-foot Micro USB cable, it offers over-charge protection and foreign object detection, in case something is incorrectly placed on top of the mat. Amazon is selling the Anker PowerWave 7.5 Fast Wireless Charging Pad for $45.99. For more info on the charger, see our detailed review. Anker Wireless Charging Pad From the same company, the cheaper Anker Wireless Charging Pad is a minimalist 2.6-inch diameter coaster with an anti-slip rubber ring to keep the iPhone in place. While it outputs a maximum of 5 Watts, it still offers a power-efficient idle mode to prevent battery overcharging and energy wastage, and indicator lights to show both its charging status and if the smartphone placed on top isn't supported. Sold with a 3-foot micro-USB cable, the Anker Wireless Charging Pad is priced at $29.99. RAVPower RAVPower is another of our favorite brands, creating great batteries and chargers at affordable prices. We reviewed their new line of iPhone compatible chargers when they launched and have recommended them ever since. They've options to choose from including a charging stand and the common charging pad. Even a portable battery if that is more to your liking. Monoprice Wireless Charger Want a cheap and simple charger? Monoprice's Wireless Charger is Qi compliant and has a clean appearance, resembling a thin white puck measuring 3.3 inches in diameter, 0.4 inches thick, and weighing in at 1.8 ounces. It only outputs power at 5V DC 1A, meaning it won't offer any fast charging capabilities, but it does include a blue "breathing" indicator light when it is charging a device, switching to a solid red when fully charged. Monoprice is currently pricing it at $7.99. The low cost makes it a viable option for adding wireless charging points in multiple locations around the home, or even to add one in the office. Aukey Graphite Wireless Charger Winner of the Red Dot Design Award in 2018, the Aukey Graphite Wireless Charger offers a stylish matte black pad and a lighter trim, with the plate measuring 3.41 inches square and 0.46 inches thick. Able to work with Qi-compatible smartphones in cases, the charger includes a plethora of safety features, including temperature control, power input monitoring, foreign object detection, and overcharging. Supplied with a 3.3-foot USB 2.0 A to USB-C cable, the charger is available for $15.99. Grovemade Grovemade has a history of using natural materials to make beautiful products. It is seen clearly in their wooden iPhone cases, as well as their Qi wireless chargers. The topmost surface is made of cork which gives your phone a gentle surface to rest on. Stainless steel makes up the bottom, giving the pad added heft. Nylon wraps the extra long USB cable for bonus durability. If the cable is too long, it can be wrapped up on the underside which is useful for keeping your desk tidy, or for taking with you for a weekend getaway. You can get a Grovemade pad in one of three colors starting at $79. Belkin BoostUp Belkin has always put out top-notch products and all their BoostUp chargers exemplify this. There's a charging pad as well as a stand to give you options. The newer Bold line of pads and stands are a bit pricier at $59.99 and $69.99 respectively, but they are a bit more powerful and compact. Grab any of them direct from Belkin. Nomad Base Station Looking for something to charge multiple devices? Consider the Nomad Base Station. This premium charger is made of leather and aluminum with both USB-A and USB-C outputs. It can charge two phones simultaneously at 7.5W. If you want more details, check out our full review. You can grab it now from Nomad for $99.95. MobilePal Gen-3 Qi Wireless Charging Power Bank If you want wireless charging on the move, the MobilePal Gen-3 10,000mAh Qi Wireless Charging Power Bank is portable power that offers more than the usual power bank features. Like others on the market, it includes two USB ports for wired charging, including one with QuickCharge 3.0 support, while on one side is a Qi wireless charging spot that delivers at up to 5 Watts. This can even enable for up to three devices to be recharged simultaneously. Including a power button, microUSB input for charging, a battery indicator, and a flashlight function, this power bank is available for $39.99. Kedron Portable Charger Power Bank If you need a portable wireless charger with a bit more power, consider the Kedron Portable Charger Power Bank. Offering a larger 24,000mAh battery and a digital display showing its charge and usage status, it can charge up to four devices at the same time using three wired connections and Qi charging. The super-sized power bank with wireless charging is priced at $33.99. Wofalodata Fast Wireless Charger The Wofalodata Fast Wireless Charger is a solid Qi-compatible panel measuring 2.28 inches square, which offers both 5W standard charging and up to 10W fast charging. This charger also doubles as a stand, with an additional plastic shelf that keeps the iPhone propped up on the plate when it is upright, though it will apparently only charge smartphones like the iPhone X in a horizontal orientation when used in this configuration. Offered with a 2-foot microUSB cable for supplying power, this stand is on sale at Amazon for $10.99. RAVPower Qi Wireless Charging Pad The RAVPower Qi Wireless Charging Pad stands the iPhone X upright on a non-slip rubberized base, with a single discrete LED informing users of the charging status. This unit uses two wireless charging coils, which allows for the iPhone to be oriented vertically or horizontally, allowing users to position it in relation to the apps they are using, while still charging the battery.<doc-sep>I've been testing two of Apple's three new iPhones during the past several days: the iPhone XS and the iPhone XS Max. They're the best phones Apple has ever made, and also the most expensive. The fully loaded iPhone XS Max with 512GB of storage costs $1,449, for example, more than some MacBooks. But apart from the bigger screen on the Max, I've had a hard time really noticing a huge improvement over last year's iPhone X, which I still love. And if you want to save some money, you should wait for Apple's more affordable model — the iPhone XR — which starts at $749 and launches in October. I'll dig through what you need to know about the phones, but here's the gist: They're so much like last year's iPhone X that most people probably won't be able to tell the XS and the X apart. What's good Todd Haselton | CNBC The iPhone X, even a year later, is still arguably the best phone on the market. The XS is basically a new model with some improvements. Most of those improvements, though, are kind of hard to notice. Take the screen, for example. It's still a brilliant, colorful and sharp OLED display that supports next-gen HDR 4K video. It's one of the best screens on the market, up there with the display on the Samsung Galaxy Note 9. But some of the improvements, like its increased dynamic range, can only be spotted when viewing photos. And even then, I don't think most folks will notice. This isn't bad; it just means the screen is still really good and we're getting to a point where it's hard to distinguish upgrades. The speakers sound awesome. They're louder than the iPhone X, and Apple has worked to tune the stereo sound so that audio sounds wider or more narrow, depending on the scene. This means movies, games and music will sound much better when you're watching in landscape mode. Apple removed the bezels, the black borders around the display, with last year's X. By doing so, Apple managed to squeeze a large 5.8-inch screen into pocket size. Years ago, people balked at a 5.8-inch screen. But now it feels ordinary. The larger iPhone XS Max has a 6.5-inch screen, which is bigger than the 6.4-inch on the massive Galaxy Note 9, but it still doesn't feel too big to me. It's the device I prefer of the two, and I love reading the news or filling out a crossword on the bigger screen. iPhone XS Max Todd Haselton | CNBC The rest of the design is basically identical to the iPhone X. You have stainless steel running along the top and sides, which gives it a premium look to match the price. I love how shiny it is on the new gold and white models. Apple says the glass on the front and back is the strongest it's ever used in a phone, and even more scratch- and shatter-resistant than the iPhone X. I'm still afraid of cracking it, as I did on a small part of my personal iPhone X, so I kept them in cases most of the time. The glass also allows you to place the phone on a wireless pad to charge it instead of plugging it in, just like with last year's model. The camera is very good. I was impressed with the iPhone X and the Galaxy Note 9, but the iPhone XS pictures looked better to me. My dog Mabel pictured at the beach. CNBC | Todd Haselton Apple said it upgraded the camera sensor that's over 30 percent larger, which means it lets in more light. Also, high dynamic range (HDR) photos can be snapped twice as fast, so there isn't the delay you see in other phones, and shadows are clearer. I also liked that I could take portrait pictures, like shots of my dog on the beach, and adjust the background blur after the fact. So a picture like this: Notice how the background isn't as blurry here. CNBC | Todd Haselton Can also look like this: In this picture, there's more bokeh and it's blurrier. CNBC | Todd Haselton Notice how there's more blur, or bokeh, in the second one. Previously, you couldn't do this on an iPhone after snapping a picture. The extra 2x telephoto lens is really useful for when you want a quick zoom and can't move in closer, and it's a feature you won't find in the cheaper iPhone XR. Apple improved the water-resistance of the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max, too, so Apple says you don't have to worry about spilling on it, or even dropping it in a pool. It can sit in 6.5 feet of water for up to 30 minutes, like Samsung's latest phones. I didn't want to ruin my test unit, but left it in a fountain about 1 foot deep for five minutes and it was totally fine after I took it out. That's better than the iPhone X, too, which could withstand spills and splashes but shouldn't really spend much time in water. iPhone XS in a fountain Todd Haselton | CNBC Lastly, the battery life is really good on the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max, but note that I've only been using them for a few days. My iPhone X had great battery life at first, but now seems to die long before the day is over. Apple says the iPhone XS offers 30 minutes longer battery life than its predecessor, while the iPhone XS Max offers a full 1.5 hours of additional battery life over the iPhone X. I drained the iPhone XS Max before bedtime only once during my testing, and that's because I pretty much used it nonstop while installing apps and configuring the phone. The new iOS 12 Apple iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max Andrew Evers | CNBC Apple's new iPhones run iOS 12, which is loaded with new features. Siri is improved and you can train it with a new "Siri Shortcuts" feature. It lets you do more with Siri than before, because you basically train it to answer your commands. For instance, I taught Siri to open the camera when I say "Hey Siri, say cheese." I also used it to automatically dial in to a conference number and to automatically start a playlist and bring up directions to work. You can use Siri shortcuts to create custom commands for Siir. CNBC | Todd Haselton There's also a bunch of new Animoji, which use the front-facing camera to mimic your face. And, you can create new "Memoji," which is basically a digital cartoon version of yourself that you can send to people in messages. I had a lot of fun creating my own Memoji, which I think actually look a bit like me, unlike competing versions from Samsung. The iOS 12 also adds improvements to speed throughout the iPhone user interface. I always thought iOS was pretty fast on my iPhone X, and it's kind of hard to notice a real difference. There are lots of other changes in iOS 12, like Screen Time that shows you how often you use some apps. That also lets you manage how long you use an app each day, in case you want to limit yourself to an hour of Facebook, for example. They work, but I don't use them to limit my own time. Also, I love that iOS 12 gives you so much more control over notifications. You can turn off individual app notifications much easier — right from the pop-up — and even have everything grouped together so you don't have 40 individual notifications from a single app, like News. On the same note, a new Quiet Time feature is a blessing for me, since I can silence all notifications at night, only allowing important ones — like a call from a family member — through. What's not good iPhone XS Todd Haselton | CNBC I don't have too many complaints with either the iPhone XS or the iPhone XS Max.<doc-sep>
Apple's new $1,000 iPhone XS doesn't come with a fast-charging brick. You'd need to spend $70 on the relevant accessories to fast-charge the $1,000 iPhone XS. With a starting price of $1,000, the iPhone XS should come with a fast-charging brick. It feels as if Apple missed an easy and relatively inexpensive opportunity to provide the "complete package." Everything about the new iPhone XS and XS Max exudes luxury. An edge-to-edge OLED display, stainless-steel construction, a camera that reviewers rave about, excellent speakers, and the iOS 12 operating system — it all combines for a decidedly premium experience. But then you get to the charger that comes with the new iPhones — the same old bog-standard charger that charges iPhones at a glacial pace compared to high-end Android devices, many of which cost less than the iPhone XS and XS Max. The new iPhone XS raises the question of why Apple doesn't include a fast-charging brick with its $1,000 smartphone. In his iPhone XS unboxing video, the YouTube reviewer MKBHD put it well: "I was kind of hoping by 2018 we could get either a fast charger in the box, or a USB-C -to-Lightning [cable], or both. But we get neither of those things. I personally think it's getting kind of lame and kind of outdated that Apple of all companies doesn't ship a fast charger in the box of such an expensive, premium phone. Just sayin'." Fast charging is a speed upgrade over the regular charging you get with the iPhone. It lets you get hours of battery life from just 30 minutes of charging. And regarding a USB-C-to-Lightning cable, this tweet from the @JonyIveParody Twitter account portrays the problem beautifully: —ᴺᴼᵀ Jony Ive (@JonyIveParody) September 13, 2018 There's no way to plug the new iPhone XS into a recent Mac laptop that comes with USB-C ports, exclusively. With this in mind, it's a wonder why Apple didn't include a USB-C brick and cable with the latest iPhones. Fast charging is available on the iPhone 8 and onward. But to fast-charge your iPhone, you have to buy separate accessories, like the $50 30W USB-C charger and the $20 USB-C-to-Lightning cable from Apple. That's an extra $70 for fast charging. Meanwhile, a fast charger has become a standard feature included with most — if not all — flagship Android phones these days. Even a $250 Android phone, the Moto G6, comes with a fast charger. More importantly, apart from comparing the iPhone's aging charger with its competition, it's also a question of getting a complete experience when you get a luxury item like the new iPhone XS. At this stage, when the best iPhone costs $1,000 or more, I'd fully expect it to come with a set of essential accessories to make the most of the device. In this case, I'd expect a fast charger to make use of the iPhone's fast-charging support, not just the minimum required spec. Otherwise, it feels like buying an expensive sports car that comes with cheap road tires, and you have to pay extra for the good tires to make the most of the car's performance. The iPhone XS and XS Max. Apple With this logic, some might say wireless chargers should also be included, as the iPhone has had wireless-charging support since the iPhone 8. But unlike a fast charger, a wireless charger is not an accessory included with most — if any — smartphones, and fewer smartphones support wireless charging. It's a less essential accessory than those for wired charging. Perhaps I'm particularly sensitive to this issue because I'm regularly exposed to premium Android flagship devices that come with fast chargers, whereas an iPhone fan who has owned only iPhones might not even be aware of the benefits of fast charging. It's not the end of the world, as you'll still be able to charge the iPhone XS with the slow charger, much as you'd still be able to drive that fast, expensive sports car on cheap tires. It just feels as if Apple is missing an easy and relatively inexpensive opportunity to provide the "complete package" that many would expect when spending $1,000 on a new smartphone.