How much does fast charging cost in terms of battery capacity?

27 March 2022
Have you noticed that phones with fast charging tend to have smaller batteries than phones without? We investigate whether the trade off is worth it.

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  • S
  • Samarth
  • 7kj
  • 27 Mar 2022

Great analysis and a refreshing article topic. Congratulations to GSMArena team.

    • ?
    • Anonymous
    • fcs
    • 27 Mar 2022

    Anonymous, 27 Mar 2022This is complete marketing nonsense. If you split a battery... moreYou're responding to a person who gobbles up marketing bs like it's divine revelation. It's actually depressing to observe.

      • ?
      • Anonymous
      • n7c
      • 27 Mar 2022

      IpsDisplay, 27 Mar 2022"There is no no magical battery on the market that can... moreThis is complete marketing nonsense. If you split a battery in two, you now have 2 smaller batteries, which will both have a smaller maximum charging current, so that adding up the charging current from both smaller batteries is approximately the same as the one from a single larger battery. A calculation:

      5000mAh battery: 1C charging is 5A at 21W.
      2x 2500mAh battery: 1C charging is charging each individual battery at 2.5A at 10.5W, times 2, so that's also 5A at 21W

      There is no free lunch in science and engineering. You might make some small marginal progress, but it'll be 10% benefit or so, not 100%.

        • T
        • Tyfyh
        • 0CL
        • 27 Mar 2022

        Sam, 27 Mar 2022Simple question. Can i charge a phone that, let's say,... moreSimple answer: you can.
        Just google your question.

          • c
          • cyber
          • S2D
          • 27 Mar 2022

          Andri , 27 Mar 2022You're still using Samsung s4 and Samsung A3? im using them right now,s4 i my all around phone for everything,a3 is fo my second card on diffrent operator,todays phones became too big and these two continue to work so there is no need to replace them,also i very rarely put them on overnigth charging

            • D
            • AnonD-844232
            • 39y
            • 27 Mar 2022

            Anonymous, 27 Mar 2022Oh please, don't speak as if you understand the whole ... moreYea I understand battery cell industry quite well.
            espec with li-po and li-ion batteries..
            You don't know that in all these smartphone batteries is logic board which driving power charge for battery.. And sometimes chip which regulates starting stopping charging sometimes fails.. and also memory.. Sometimes fails (due to overheat) and gives the device false information about how in reality cell is charged.. so for example it gives false charge % and charger and unit software thinks it has 50% but in reality it has less and it will reach 100% and when you will start using it, and you will discharge battery for example to 20% it will just shuts off immediately.. so this means not all cells are recharged . ANd the battery cell can be completely fine..

              • D
              • AnonD-844232
              • 39y
              • 27 Mar 2022

              Anonymous, 27 Mar 2022I love excuses made to defend chinese phones. My favori... moreNOt sure what u talking about but OK
              Defending??
              Like I have iphone 6 iphone 5s , Huawei Mate 20 X 4G, 20 X 5G , Iphone 12 pro
              How defend?? explain ?
              And u naive u have no idea about that apple has 30 Watt charger and it charges faster than their original small iphone 5V 1A charger ... So no u not right

                • D
                • AnonD-844232
                • 39y
                • 27 Mar 2022

                Anonymous, 27 Mar 2022Go thanks sony for doing this , so other could copy. Se... moreNo u not right ...
                all manufs basically did this same time .. just one started earlier others bit later .. There is nothing revolutionary about this so no any copy .. It is about decision which company will implement it now or later..
                I had huawei first I think huawei P20 pro ? once battery reached 95% it slow charging down
                Has nothing to do with sony copying .. It is not about copying..
                It is about if they decide to implement feature later.. Or in android implementation..

                  Faster charging is convenient. However, the faster the charge, the more heat that is generated, and in turn the shorter the battery life. Something to consider.

                    • ?
                    • Anonymous
                    • 8Kf
                    • 27 Mar 2022

                    notafanboy, 27 Mar 2022What is this troll comment? First of all the dude didn'... moreOther do not want to use this charging because of the effects.
                    Then chinese phones users claim other brands do not know how to apply fast charging when these brands have done on laptops before.

                    So, if a brand has 100W on laptop, but uses 20W on phone, you cant say this brand does not know how to do. It is beyond lame and dumb.

                    I doubt vivo Y01 gets as hot as iqoo 9 pro while charging.
                    I doubt Oppo A16e gets as hot as find x3 pro while charging.

                    Same brands, different charging speed = lower temperature.

                    Chinese phones will never charge below 43 degrees with 65W or more. This heat hits battery as well.

                      • d
                      • dhakirikiri
                      • XZ2
                      • 27 Mar 2022

                      I've bought three 10W chargers for charging my one 12 Pro Max & two 13 Pro Max..
                      Cause I know the science behind that..

                        Anonymous, 27 Mar 2022I love excuses made to defend chinese phones. My favori... moreWhat is this troll comment? First of all the dude didn't even mention Apple. You did. Secondly, you didn't even address his argument, instead you made some shoit up to make yourself look smart. How laughable!

                          • ?
                          • Anonymous
                          • 63x
                          • 27 Mar 2022

                          Anonymous, 27 Mar 2022I love excuses made to defend chinese phones. My favori... moreIkr. It's totally laughable. They think everyone is rich enough to a new phone every one or two years.

                            • ?
                            • Anonymous
                            • 63x
                            • 27 Mar 2022

                            AnonD-844232, 27 Mar 2022Bullsht Nobody replacing batteries these days.. That was ... moreOh please, don't speak as if you understand the whole industry*. I know a lot of people who still use older phones with removable battery because it's so much easier to replace. Even in rugged phones circle, removable battery is the top priority.

                            *https://www.androidauthority.com/smartphone-feature-bring-back-poll-results-3126033/

                              • ?
                              • Anonymous
                              • 8Kf
                              • 27 Mar 2022

                              AnonD-844232, 27 Mar 2022today u have in android ''smart charge''... moreGo thanks sony for doing this , so other could copy.

                              Set the phone to stop charging at 80% = sony first
                              Set phone to slow down after 90%, then finish when user wakes up = sony first
                              Bypass system = sony first again

                                • ?
                                • Anonymous
                                • 8Kf
                                • 27 Mar 2022

                                AnonD-844232, 27 Mar 2022Bullsht Nobody replacing batteries these days.. That was ... moreI love excuses made to defend chinese phones.

                                My favorite is "Apple does not use fast charging on iphone because Apple does not know how to do it nor has the tech".
                                This despite same Apple using on MacBooks. 😂

                                  Anonymous, 27 Mar 2022This article gives a very misleading idea about how much ba... more"There is no no magical battery on the market that can sustain very high charging speeds without impacting battery life and the impact is very measurable"

                                  But there is because you think fast charging is ONLY achieved by increasing charging power .. this is false

                                  You can literally 100% decrease charging speed by ONLY splitting the battery in to smaller pieces and charge simultaneously in Parallel

                                  AND you can also achieve something similar if the flow of current charges from the center and then go up from the middle and down from the middle simultaneously....


                                  These two applications have zero to do with the watts ...

                                  And your point about charge speed control it is done in very fast charging phone but they do not make it available for us end users... These chipsets talk to one another for temperatures etc

                                  Look at oppo's implementation here:

                                  https://www.gsmarena.com/heres_how_oppo_guarantees_1600_charge_cycles_on_the_find_x5_pro-news-53623.php

                                    • ?
                                    • Anonymous
                                    • 3SI
                                    • 27 Mar 2022

                                    Andri , 27 Mar 2022You're still using Samsung s4 and Samsung A3? Those are properly sized phones, not pocket tablets

                                      • ?
                                      • Anonymous
                                      • AJj
                                      • 27 Mar 2022

                                      AnonD-844232, 27 Mar 2022Bullsht Nobody replacing batteries these days.. That was ... moreBatteries are changed a lot,...."A LOT".

                                        • b
                                        • blue
                                        • 0CN
                                        • 27 Mar 2022

                                        Oh, by the way, one more benefit of slow charging - the size of the charger. :-D I really don't like the huge bricks.