RAVpower USB-C wall charger is ideal for the iPhone 12 [Review]

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RAVpower PD 30W USB-C Charger with Lightning Cable review
RAVpower’s USB-C wall charger and cable is just right for the iPhone 12.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

RAVpower PD 30W USB-C Charger with Lightning Cable can be the wall charger that iPhone 12 users need. It includes USB-C and USB-A ports, and fold-down electrical prongs. And it juices up iOS handsets as fast as possible — far quicker than Apple’s old 5W chargers. Plus, it even comes with a charging cable for use with older iPhones.

Read on for the results of my real-world testing of the wall charger and cable combo.

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RAVpower PD 30W USB-C Charger with Lightning Cable review

The iPhone 12 series doesn’t come with a wall charger, but it does include a Lightning-to-USB-C charging cable. Plug that cable into RAVpower’s PD 30W USB-C Charger and you’re ready to replenish the latest iPhone… maybe faster than you realized was possible.

And RAVpower didn’t overlook earlier models. If your iPhone came with the old Apple 5W charger, use the Lightning-to-USB-C cable that comes with this power adapter to fast charge.

Hardware and design

This accessory is a just a bit larger than the basic 5W one Apple used to supply with its handsets. To be specific, it’s 1.9 inches by 1.9 inches, and is 1.1 inches thick. That’s with the electrical prongs folded down for easier transport. It weighs 3.2 ounces.

The RAVpower PD 30W USB-C Charger comes in basic black, as does the Lightning-to-USB-C cable. This is 3 feet and 2.5 inches — definitely long enough to be useful.

Both the power adapter and cable are of decent quality. The cable is more robust than the terrible ones Apple used to supply with its iPhones, but not as nice as the one that now comes with the iPhone 12.

On the front of the wall charger are the USB-C and USB-A ports. On the back are the fold-down electrical prongs.

RAVpower PD 30W USB-C Charger is designed for travel.
To make it easier to carry around, the electrical prongs on RAVpower’s wall adapter fold down.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Performance

In my tests, a half hour with the RAVpower PD 30W USB-C Charger and cable took an iPhone 12 from 0% to an 54% battery level. A full hour brought the battery level to 83%.

That highlights something every iPhone user should know: juicing an Apple handset slows dramatically as the battery gets closer to full. In my tests with this charger, it took over half an hour to get an iPhone 12 from 90% to 100%.

The above test used the USB-C port, of course. This offers 20W of power. The USB-A port on the RAVpower adapter offers 10W. Still, that’s a lot more than the old 5W Apple charger. This port is ready to replenish your Apple Watch, Switch or other gadget while bringing your iPhone back from the dead.

And don’t overlook that the USB-C port on this charger can be used with an iPad or even a MacBook, with the right cable. It’ll be a relatively slow charge, but my tests show that it can in crease the batter level of a iPad Pro by 15% in 20 minutes.

RAVpower PD 30W USB-C Charger comes with a Lightning-to-USB-C charger.
The bundled Lightning-to-USB-C charger makes iPhone fast charges possible.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

RAVpower PD 30W USB-C Charger with Lightning Cable final thoughts

iPhone 12 buyers need a USB-C wall charger, and RAVpower makes a good one. It quickly juices up this handset, with either the included Lightning-to-USB-C cable or the one Apple bundles with its latest handset. Or the power adapter can be used with earlier Apple handsets.

And the USB-A port is handy for charging other gadgets.

Pricing

The PD 30W USB-C Charger with Lightning Cable goes for $25.99 on the RAVpower website. It’s also sold by Amazon.com where it’s currently available for $25.98.

Buy from: Amazon

For comparison, the Apple 30W USB-C Power Adapter is $49, and doesn’t offer a USB-A port. Or consider the Anker PowerPort Atom III Slim. It’s currently $17.99, and is very slim. But it also has only a single USB-C charging port.

RAVpower provided Cult of Mac with a review unit for this article. See our reviews policy, and check out more in-depth reviews of Apple-related items.

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