What to bring for an iPhone in NYC
One USB-C cable, one charger and a battery pack covers it. If you're coming from outside North America you need a plug adapter but almost certainly not a voltage converter — Apple chargers handle both.
Work out which cable your iPhone takes
Look at the port on the bottom of the phone.
- Oval, symmetrical — USB-C. Every iPhone 15 and later.
- Slim with a flat contact strip — Lightning. iPhone 14 and earlier.
Bring two of whichever it is. Cables fail at the worst possible moment and a replacement in a tourist area costs several times what it should.
Bring a charger that isn't the tiny one
The 5 W cube Apple used to ship takes hours. A 20 W or larger USB-C charger gets you to roughly half in half an hour, which matters when you're back at the hotel briefly between things.
One charger with two ports saves you a plug socket — hotel rooms rarely have enough, and the accessible ones are often behind the bed.
Pack a power bank, and know the airline rule
A day of maps, photos and transit apps will flatten a phone by mid-afternoon. A 5,000–10,000 mAh bank gives you one to two full recharges and fits in a pocket.
It must travel in your carry-on, never in checked baggage — that's a firm airline rule on lithium batteries, not a suggestion. Many airlines have also tightened rules on using or charging power banks during the flight, so check your specific airline before you fly.
Plug adapters, if you're coming from abroad
US sockets are Type A and B — two flat parallel pins, sometimes with a round earth pin. You'll need an adapter from the UK, Europe, most of Asia, Australia and elsewhere.
Buy it before you travel. Airport prices are punishing and hotel front desks usually only have a couple to lend.
You probably don't need a voltage converter
The US runs 120 V at 60 Hz, where much of the world runs 220–240 V. That sounds alarming and mostly isn't.
Check the small print on the charger itself. If it says "INPUT: 100–240 V, 50/60 Hz" it is dual-voltage and a plain plug adapter is all you need. Every Apple charger, and effectively every phone and laptop charger made in the last decade, says this.
What genuinely does need a converter: hair dryers, straighteners, travel kettles and shavers with a heating element. Those are the things that burn out.
Two small things worth packing
- A short cable, 30 cm or so, for use with a power bank in a bag. A two-metre cable dangling out of your pocket on a train is how cables and phones get damaged.
- A charger for your watch, if you wear one. It's the single most forgotten item, and no shop near your hotel will stock the right one.