The difference between Apple’s 18W fast charge and 20W fast charge

The appearance of Apple products has always been the one that dominates, and the charger is no exception.
1. Interface

On the left is the weathered 18W PD fast charge, and on the right is the fledgling 20W PD fast charge. Both are PD fast charging, and the interfaces of the two chargers are naturally the same, both are USB-C interfaces.

2. Parameters

Apple 20W PD charger bottom nameplate information:

Manufacturer/production plant: Salcomp Technology (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd.

Item model number: A2244

Input: 100-240V~50/60Hz 0.5A

Output: 5V3A or 9V2.22A

Serial Number (SN): F1603430JJMPMG9AU

Apple 18W PD charger bottom nameplate information:

Model: A2244

Input: 100-240V~50/60Hz 0.5A

Output: 5V3A or 9V2A

Manufacturer: Yada Electronics International Co., Ltd.

Serial Number (SN): C3D8423C73YH1P9AR

4. Weight

Let’s look at the weight again. The net weight of Apple’s 20W PD fast charge is about 58.1g.

The net weight of Apple’s 18W PD fast charge is about 61.1g. Both are around 60g, only 3g difference. If the error is larger, it may be smoothed out. We will disassemble it later and look at the internal differences.

5. Size

The size and size of the two Apple 20W and 18W chargers are basically the same, the thickness is about 27mm, and the length and width are about 42mm.

Appearance comparison summary

In terms of length, width and height, the size of Apple’s 20W PD fast charge and 18W PD fast charge is almost the same, not to mention the weight and feel are basically the same.

Use Apple’s 18W charger to charge the iPhone 12. After a brief shutdown and charging, the phone is turned on, and then the voltage jumps from 5V to 9V fast charging. About 18 minutes ago, the voltage, current and power platform maintained a stable input state, and then the current and power decreased in a stepwise manner. At 49 minutes, the voltage dropped to 5V input. After about 13 minutes, the power and current gradually decreased until the end of charging. The whole process took about 1 hour and 42 minutes, and the maximum power was 9.09V 1.97A 17.97W.

Using Apple’s 20W charger to charge the iPhone 12, the top three data platforms were relatively stable for about 16 minutes, and then the current and power declined in a stepped state. At 48 minutes, the voltage dropped to 5V input, and the power and current lasted for about 14 minutes. Gradually decrease until the end of charging, the whole process takes about 1 hour and 41 minutes, and the maximum power is 8.90V 2.06A 18.41W.

Performance comparison summary

After the comparison of fast charging protocol, PDO, charging compatibility and full charging, you can see that Apple’s 20W PD fast charging has completely surpassed Apple’s 18W PD fast charging, but the surpassing of each item is not so exaggerated. For consumers with 18W PD fast charging, it is better to buy 20W, 18W can also be used, and the experience in all aspects has not been greatly reduced. But for brands or manufacturers, when everyone is robbing the cake of the 20W PD charger sent by Apple, which brand calmly tells consumers that 18W is not unusable, this is undoubtedly suicide.