Technologies

Speed Up Your iPhone Charging With These 9 Smart Hacks

Power up your iPhone in less time using these straightforward charging tips and tricks.

Spring is here, and with longer days and packed schedules ahead, a dead phone is the last thing you need. Whether you’re out enjoying the sunshine, meeting deadlines or powering through school assignments, staying charged keeps you connected and on track. The good news? You don’t have to wait around for your iPhone to juice up.

If you’ve ever found yourself sprinting out the door with only 5% battery, you’re not alone. There are a few quick and easy charging tricks that can get your iPhone powered up fast — no stress, no extra accessories. Whether your phone’s hanging on by a thread or you just need a boost before heading out, these tips will help you charge up in record time and keep going strong all season long.

Looking for more charging power? Check out the best power banks for the iPhone, and if you’re still rocking an iPhone with a Lightning port, here are some of the cheapest fast chargers you can find.

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1. Juice up with a new charger

The quickest way to charge your iPhone is with a fast charger: at least a 20-watt power adapter with a USB-C to Lightning or USB-C to USB-C cable for iPhone 15 models or later. As long as you own an iPhone 8 or later, you can fast-charge your phone from dead back up to around 50% battery in about 30 minutes. If you have an hour to spare, you can fully charge it. Even just 10 minutes of fast charging can boost your battery by double digits, so if you’re short on time, always go for the fast charger option.

Apple no longer provides power adapters when you buy a new phone, only the cable, but you can purchase Apple’s 20-watt power adapter from Apple and Amazon. According to Apple, you can also use other compatible fast-charging power bricks, but you’ll need at least a 20-watt brick to fast-charge an iPhone 12 and later.

2. Charge lightning fast wirelessly

The second-fastest way to charge your iPhone is with Apple’s MagSafe charger and a 20-watt power adapter, but for this to work you must own either an iPhone 12 or later to get the faster 15-watt wireless charging. If your iPhone is dead, you should get to around 30% battery in about 30 minutes of wireless charging.

This doesn’t mean you can use any Qi wireless charger (the industry standard) for fast charging. While the MagSafe charger supports 15 watts, a Qi charger only gives you up to 7.5 watts, which is much slower than a MagSafe and only slightly faster than the traditional 5-watt wall charger. Be aware that magnetic wireless chargers that aren’t MagSafe-certified will also charge at the slower 7.5-watt speed.

3. Stop relying on your computer to charge your phone

Your laptop might seem like a convenient way to charge your iPhone, especially if you spend most of your day in front of a computer and want to keep a close eye on any incoming text messages and notifications. However, your computer will always charge your phone slower than any wall charger or wireless charger.

Your computer’s USB port, whether it’s a bigger and older USB-A or the newer, smaller USB-C, cannot deliver the same amount of power as any wall outlet can, even a 5-watt power adapter. That’s especially true if you have an older computer with a faulty USB port or an incompatible charging cable, both of which can slow down the charging process further.

4. Stop using your iPhone while it’s charging

If you want your iPhone to charge as quickly as possible, try to stay off of it as much as possible. If you’re streaming videos or playing mobile games while charging your iPhone, the battery will charge much slower, so just leave it untouched if you can.

5. Speed up battery charging with this easy tip

Even if your screen is sleeping, your phone is still working in the background. If you want your iPhone to charge quickly, the best thing to do is to turn it off.

Note that plugging in an iPhone that’s turned off will sometimes power it back on, so plug it in or place it on a wireless charger first, then power it down.

6. Switch to airplane mode if you don’t want to turn off your phone

If you don’t want to turn off your iPhone but still want to help it charge faster, you can turn on airplane mode, which disables all wireless transmission functions like cellular, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, all of which consume power. If they’re off, your iPhone can charge quicker. This way, you can also quickly turn airplane mode off to quickly check on any text messages or phone calls you might be waiting for.

7. Tweak these iPhone settings to charge your battery faster

Do you know all of those tips that help you preserve your battery in the first place? You can use those same features and settings to help your iPhone charge faster if you don’t plan on turning it off.

Low power mode: Turn it on to reduce or affect battery-consuming features like 5G, display brightness, auto-lock, background app refresh and automatic downloads.
Dark mode: The jury is out on exactly how much dark mode actually saves battery life, but turning it on while you’re charging your iPhone doesn’t hurt, especially if every percent matters.
Lower your screen brightness: One of the most power-hungry pieces of any gadget that has one is its display. The brighter your screen, the quicker your battery drains, so turn it all the way down while it charges.

8. Optimized Battery Charging may be slowing down the charge rate

Apple has a built-in tool that helps prevent your iPhone battery from degrading as fast, but this same feature also makes your device charge slower. While the feature typically only slows down your iPhone during long periods of charging, and usually overnight, it still might be worth disabling when you’re charging your phone. Go to Settings > Battery > Battery Health and toggle off Optimized Battery Charging to disable this feature.

9. You might just need a new iPhone battery

In the same settings page where you can disable optimized battery charging, you can also check out your battery’s health. If you see a message, like «Your battery’s health is significantly degraded,» you should look into making an appointment with Apple to replace your battery. A degraded battery doesn’t hold charge as well, so it’ll drain more quickly. A new battery will improve your overall battery life.

You can check out how much it will approximately cost to replace your battery on Apple’s iPhone Battery Service website. The price depends on your service coverage and the make and model: for the iPhone 15 series, the estimate is $99.

For more tips, check out 23 more iPhone tips and tricks you should know and how to get more space when your iPhone’s storage is running low.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Nov. 2, #875

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle No. 875 for Sunday, Nov. 2.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle has a neat purple category today. It’s fun, but it’s not easy to solve, so if you need help, you’re in the right place. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Move the stuff.

Green group hint: Check your crayon box.

Blue group hint: Whew, I’m wiped out.

Purple group hint: Check your horoscope.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Goods to be transported.

Green group: Light brown shades.

Blue group: Show signs of physical exertion.

Purple group: Starts of zodiac signs.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is goods to be transported. The four answers are cargo, freight, haul and load.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is light brown shades. The four answers are camel, fawn, khaki and tan.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is show signs of physical exertion. The four answers are cramp, pant, redden and sweat.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is starts of zodiac signs. The four answers are aqua, capri, gem and sag. (Aquarius, Capricorn, Gemini and Sagittarius.)

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Nov. 2 #609

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle No. 609 for Sunday, Nov. 2.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle is a real puzzler. You runners might have a better shot at solving it than the rest of us. Some of the answers are a bit tough to unscramble, so if you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Go the distance.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: 26.2 miles.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints, but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

RUNT, TURN, TURNER, STAT, STAR, HATS, RATS, CAPE, MOTE, STRAT, TART, TARTS, ROAN, DRAT, DRAM, HOME, TOME, TIME, TIMER, PERK

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight, but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

PACE, START, FINISH, RUNNER, HYDRATION, TIMEKEEPER

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is MARATHON. To find it, start with the M that’s three letters to the right on the bottom row, and wind up.

Technologies

Galaxy S26 Rumor Roundup: Samsung Could Be Shaking Up Its Flagship

Rumors about Samsung’s next Galaxy S26 series have been all over the place.

The year isn’t over yet, and there are already plenty of wild rumors about the upcoming Galaxy S26 line of phones.

Months ago, there was speculation that Samsung would replace its base phone with the Pro. It was rumored that the Plus would be discontinued in favor of the S26 Edge (much like how Apple dropped its Plus phone for the thin iPhone Air), and the Ultra would remain without any name change.

But just a few weeks ago, new reports emerged. Word is that the S26 Pro will simply be the S26, and the S26 Edge might be on its way out.

Here’s a quick rundown of the latest Galaxy S26 talk to make sense of it all.

Galaxy S26 line release date

Samsung typically hosts a few Unpacked events each year, with the first event usually taking place in either January or February. Most of this year’s S25 handsets were announced at a Galaxy Unpacked event on Jan. 22, 2025, and released on Feb. 7, so we can expect a similar timeline for the Galaxy S26 series.

However, it’s possible that additional S26 releases may occur throughout the year. In 2025, for example, Samsung released two more S25 handsets — the S25 Edge and the S25 FE — at two separate events in May and September, respectively.

Galaxy S26 Pro

For months, one of the biggest rumors surrounding the Galaxy S26 was that it might not exist at all. Internal build code uncovered by Android Authority suggested Samsung could be scrapping the base model entirely and replacing it with the S26 Pro. That might sound strange at first, but it could have signaled Samsung’s plan to position the S26 lineup as a more premium offering than its predecessors.

According to a new report from SamMobile, the Galaxy S26 Pro might actually just be the standard Galaxy S26. Given that most other rumors suggest the phone will be pretty entry-level, that could very well be the case.

Leaked renders of the S26 (whether the base or Pro model) show a design very similar to the S25, with one key difference: the rear camera. The S26 appears to have a vertical bump on the back housing three camera lenses, while the S25 has no bump at all, with its lenses fitted directly into the body.

According to Android Headlines, the S26 will feature a 50-megapixel ultrawide camera, representing a significant upgrade from the S25’s 12-megapixel ultrawide camera. There have been conflicting rumors about this, though. Others have speculated that the S26’s camera specs will remain unchanged from the S25.

Other speculations about the S26 include a slightly bigger 6.3-inch screen, along with an overall slightly larger and slimmer build. Android Headlines also reports that the S26 Pro could have a 4,300-mAh battery, up to 12 GB of RAM and as much as 512 GB of storage.

As for the processor, Samsung’s VP of its Mobile Experiences Division, Daniel Araujo, said in a recent earnings call that the S26 lineup will «revolutionize the user experience with user-centric, next-gen AI, a second-generation custom AP, and stronger performance, including new camera sensors.»

This is a strong indicator that the Galaxy S26 series will be powered by the Exynos 2600 processor at least in some regions, according to Android Headlines.

That said, rumors suggest that the S26 will use Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset in the US and China. According to Qualcomm, the new Snapdragon chip is about 20 percent faster and 35 percent more power-efficient than its predecessor.

Galaxy S26 Edge and Plus

The Galaxy S25 Edge debuted with a lot of fanfare this year, thanks to its ultra-slim form factor, so it’s not a stretch to imagine Samsung will come out with a successor next year. However, there have been conflicting rumors about whether this will happen at all.

For months, there were leaks suggesting Samsung would replace the Galaxy S26 Plus with the Galaxy S26 Edge. The S26 Edge was expected to have a super slim profile of around 5.5 mm, making it 0.3 mm skinnier than the S25 Edge. That’s also 0.1 mm thinner than the iPhone Air. There was further speculation that it would have the same 6.7-inch screen, a larger 4,200-mAh battery and the newer Snapdragon processor.

Now, however, this rumor looks to be on shaky ground. According to SamMobile and 9to5Google, the company could be dropping the Galaxy S26 Edge from its 2026 lineup due to poor sales of the Galaxy S25 Edge, especially in comparison to the rest of the Galaxy S25 series. Instead, Samsung could be replacing the S26 Edge with the Galaxy S26 Plus. We currently don’t know too much about the S26 Plus, but it’ll likely have the same 6.7-inch screen as its predecessor.

Galaxy S26 Ultra

With all the uncertainty surrounding the Galaxy S26 (or Pro) and the Galaxy S26 Edge (or Plus), the only handset seemingly free of confusion is the Galaxy S26 Ultra. According to renders uncovered by Android Headlines, the S26 Ultra looks to have a slightly different design than its predecessor.

The images appear to show that the Galaxy S26 Ultra has curvier corners compared to its predecessor and a slightly different camera layout on the rear. The four cameras are positioned in the same locations, but three of them are housed in a raised vertical bump. There’s also speculation that the Ultra could be slightly slimmer, at 7.9 mm thick, which is 0.3 mm thinner than the current S25 Ultra. Android Headlines also says that the phone’s 6.9-inch display could use new M14 OLED panels, which would be brighter and more power efficient.

Unfortunately, current rumors suggest that the S26 Ultra will feature very similar camera specs. ETNews claims it will still have a 200-megapixel main camera, a 50-megapixel ultrawide, a 10-megapixel 3x telephoto and a 50-megapixel 5x telephoto. The front-facing 12-megapixel camera also appears unchanged.

Like with the Galaxy S26, the Galaxy S26 Ultra is said to ship with the aforementioned Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 in the US and China, and with the Exynos 2600 chip in other markets. Other rumored specs include 16 GB of RAM, up to 1 TB of UFS 4.0 storage, a 5,000-mAh battery and faster 60-watt wired charging.