The battery section of Settings in iOS 18 now shows when the iPhone is connected to a slow charger.
It would be handy if this new "Slow Charger" warning were not so buried in Settings
Alongside giving users more options regarding charging limits, Apple's new iOS 18 includes a detail about charging speeds. It's specifically shown in the battery section of Settings, in the section that details battery usage.
As spotted by a user on Reddit, the words "Slow Charger" are followed by an "i" icon for more information. This is the sole information icon in the section, and tapping it goes to an as-yet non-existent support document.
It appears that this section of Settings is the only place where the warning is given. There doesn't appear to be an alert or any other notification, and there is no support article yet.
This all seems odd for an issue that will so directly affect how long it takes to charge the iPhone. But this is very first beta release of iOS 18, so just as support documentation will be updated later, perhaps iOS 18 will change to surface this "slow charger" as an alert.
In this case, the user knew that they were charging their iPhone 15 Pro Max with a 5W charger. The small one-inch charger that Apple included for years with the iPhone is a 5W model.
There's no risk of damage to an iPhone by using a slower charger, the issue is purely that it will take longer to charge. The iPhone 15 Pro Max can be charged at up to 27W.