iPhone 17 Fast Charging: Why Apple’s New Adapter is Essential

If you’re planning to upgrade to the latest iPhone 17 series, be prepared for another Apple twist: your old USB charger probably won’t cut it for fast charging. Apple’s new lineup – the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and the slimmer iPhone 17 Air – introduces quicker charging speeds, but only if you use the company’s new and oddly named 40W Dynamic Power Adapter with 60W Max. With this charger, Apple claims the standard 17, 17 Pro, and 17 Pro Max can charge up to 50% in around 20 minutes, while the Air model needs about 30 minutes to reach the halfway mark.

That sounds great, but here’s where Apple being Apple comes in: this charging system doesn’t work with most of the chargers you probably already own.

The company has embraced a new protocol called Adjustable Voltage Supply (AVS), which lets devices request voltage in ultra-fine steps between 15V and 48V. It’s a clever approach meant to handle higher power loads efficiently. However, the frustrating part is that many existing chargers support Programmable Power Supply (PPS), a protocol that is perfectly capable of delivering 40W or even 60W. Apple’s new adapter, priced at $39, skips PPS entirely and instead relies on standard USB Power Delivery 3.0 plus AVS. In other words, your current PPS-capable charger won’t unlock the new iPhone’s fastest speeds.

According to early tests, the adapter can sustain 60W output only for about 15 minutes before dropping back to 40W, which is why Apple advertises it with a confusing dual rating. A Reddit user known as privaterbok even broke down the specs and confirmed that PPS is not part of the deal. This means if you buy the charger, it’s mainly useful for your new iPhone – not for other PPS-ready gadgets like Samsung phones, laptops, or power banks.

The bigger question still hangs in the air: can the iPhone 17 charge just as quickly using a regular 40W or 60W PPS adapter from another brand? On paper, PPS should be sufficient, but Apple’s tight integration with AVS suggests there could be efficiency differences. We won’t know for sure until more in-depth charging tests are carried out, but it wouldn’t be the first time Apple designed its ecosystem in a way that makes third-party accessories less appealing.

Of course, the charging controversy comes alongside the usual sticker shock of new iPhone pricing. The standard iPhone 17 with 256GB of storage and 8GB of RAM starts around €949/£799, while the Pro version climbs up to €1,299/£1,099 for the same configuration. The lightweight iPhone 17 Air, positioned as a slimmer alternative, comes in at roughly €1,199/£999 for its 256GB base. Push to 512GB and the numbers rise even further. For Apple, faster charging is a headline upgrade – but only if you’re willing to shell out for yet another accessory.

In short, the iPhone 17 family finally offers competitive fast charging speeds, but Apple has wrapped the feature in a proprietary twist. Unless you buy its own Dynamic Power Adapter, don’t expect to hit that advertised 50% in 20 minutes. It’s classic Apple: progress, but on their own terms, and always at a premium.