It’s almost common knowledge by now that Apple dramatically increased the camera bump on the iPhone 14 Pro. Necessary to accommodate the larger camera sensor and new 48MP main camera, this change is evidently causing owners some major hassles. Reports are coming in of the larger camera bump on the iPhone 14 Pro causing problems using many different wireless chargers.
iPhone 14 Pro Owners Complain Their New Devices Won’t Work with ‘Most’ Wireless Chargers
The new camera system on the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max have been pretty well hyped. The 48MP main camera is a huge jump over previous generations, and features like the Photonic Engine and Active Mode make iPhone photography more powerful than ever.
However, many owners of the new iPhone 14 Pro are reporting a big hassle related to the enlarged camera bump needed to make all of that happen. Not only did the camera have early trouble with physical vibration in third-party apps, but now owners are reporting their wireless chargers won’t work with the handset.
Those using Qi chargers seem to bear the brunt of the problem. As a refresher, Qi wireless charging is a universal standard that doesn’t rely on the MagSafe magnets in more recent iPhone models. You just rest or lay your device against a charging pad or mat, and the electricity flows through to recharge your battery.
The problem here is tolerance. While Qi charging doesn’t necessarily require direct contact, there cannot be more than a few millimeters of gap between the device and the charging surface. Apple’s redesigned and enlarged camera bump on the iPhone 14 Pro pushes that tolerance just a bit too far, it seems.
No Impact to MagSafe Charging, or Apparently the iPhone 14 Pro Max
In our own internal testing and reading the reports, it appears the problem lies only with the iPhone 14 Pro. There haven’t been any reports of troubles from iPhone 14 Pro Max owners this far. Furthermore, it’s only Qi wireless chargers that show a problem, not MagSafe.
One TMO staff member reported that using a “cheap case” alleviated the problem with her iPhone 14 Pro and wireless charging. Even then, the device will only charge when placed upside down or in landscape orientation. Other, more expensive cases, showed the same problem of the Qi charging mat not making the appropriate connection at all to recharge the iPhone.
For my part, I rely entirely on MagSafe charging and haven’t experienced any challenges. I use both an OtterBox MagSafe charging stand and a HyperJuice 4-in-1 magnetic wireless charger. Both of these accessories work just fine, from my testing.
I have an iPhone 14 Pro Max. Without a case its hit-and-miss to get and maintain a connection, with even a thin case its near impossible. It was better with the phone being placed opposite to the normal top in orientation but still unusable. This makes any Qi car charger unusable.