For years, Android smartphones have been able to use the USB-C cable to charge other devices using your phone’s battery, and it’s very convenient. And with the iPhone 15 series finally using USB-C, Android phones and iPhones can finally share their power with each other.

Since the introduction of USB-C on Android phones around 2015, almost all devices have had the ability to use their battery to charge another device, even if it’s another phone. Essentially, this means that you’ll always carry a rechargeable battery with you as long as you have a spare battery. Although Android phones could share charging with the iPhone after Apple introduced USB-C to Lightning cables a few years ago, the reverse was not possible.

However, this has changed with the introduction of USB-C in the iPhone 15 series, and we already have evidence that Apple devices can share power with Android phones. In the short video published on YouTube, PetaPixel tests power sharing between Google Pixel Fold and iPhone 15 via the USB-C cable, and the iPhone starts sharing power with the Pixel immediately after connecting the cable. This is great to see!

It is also easily possible in the other direction.

Android phones have the ability to manage USB usage when the cable is connected, as well as the option to “charge the connected device” when the possibility is noticed. We didn’t have a chance to test this on the iPhone 15, but there’s no obvious reason why it wouldn’t work.

If you’re wondering, it’s not OK to use a USB-C to Lightning cable even if this switch is on. allows An old iPhone to charge an Android phone.

When can you do? Actually, it is not a very frequently used feature. Although my Android phones have had this feature for several years, I’ve only used it a few times. Most of the time, I use the USB-C plug on my phone to charge accessories on the go, which I’ve done a few times with my Pixel Watch while traveling. It would probably be even more convenient to grab a USB-C charger and charge the accessory using my phone.

It’s actually pretty useful with an accessory like Nomad’s ChargeKey. But however you use it and whenever you use it, it helps iPhone and Android users feel a little more integrated between their phones, and that’s great.