Apple’s new iPhone charger dynamically switches between 40 and 60W

If you want a powerful phone charger in the smallest size possible, Apple has the answer — but there is a tradeoff. The company’s new 40W Dynamic Power Adapter is the first charger to support the USB PD 3.2 AVS (adjustable voltage supply) protocol so it can hit up to 60W, but only for a limited time. It was designed to work the company’s new iPhone 17 models with faster charging speeds than previous iPhones.

Lugging heavy chargers is a particularly bugbear of mine so the Dynamic Power Adapter stands out with a footprint not much bigger than the smallest 40W chargers. With AVS, it can provide a specific power level that’s ideal for what a given device needs at specific times in its charge cycle. To that end, it can hit up 60W but only for a limited time period of around 18 minutes, according to one tester.

“With Dynamic Power, you get many of the same benefits of higher-wattage chargers in a compact, pocket-size form factor,” the Apple explains in the product description. “For faster charging, pair [it] with iPhone 17 models (50 percent battery in around 20 minutes) or iPhone Air (50 percent battery in around 30 minutes).”

With its fold down prongs it’ll easily slide into a pocket and not weigh you down like regular 60W chargers. For instance, Anker’s popular Nano II 65W GaN charger is one of the smaller options available but is still about twice the size of Apple’s new model. However, due to the limited time at higher wattages, it won’t be suitable for charging laptops like some third-party models. The other rub is the price: The 40W Dynamic Power Adapter costs $40, almost twice as much as Anker’s 65W charger.