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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  • ?
  • Anonymous
  • AJj
  • 27 Mar 2022

Andri , 27 Mar 2022You're still using Samsung s4 and Samsung A3? Is there any problem, if it is working fine and serving it's purpose?

There are people still using old Nokia and Lumia smartphones. 2g and 3g still works in many countries.

    • A
    • Andri
    • Nvp
    • 27 Mar 2022

    cyber, 27 Mar 2022slow charging,only original charger and baterry,no chinese ... moreYou're still using Samsung s4 and Samsung A3?

      • ?
      • Anonymous
      • mXr
      • 27 Mar 2022

      Hey Peter, on GSMARENA, why don't you join the discussion?

        • ?
        • Anonymous
        • mXr
        • 27 Mar 2022

        Anonymous, 27 Mar 2022This article gives a very misleading idea about how much ba... moreWhat a smart wise excellent post. The editor didn't even bother or care too reply or agree or attest too anything you said.
        Bunch off jokers and puppets these all are on here. I believe they are dumb.

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          • AnonD-844232
          • 39y
          • 27 Mar 2022

          34SciencePigeon, 27 Mar 2022In my Opinion, as I tested battery life of my handsets (Not... moretoday u have in android ''smart charge'' and ''smart capacity'' feature so doesn't matter what charger once battery reaches 90% or 95% the charging will slow down or smart charge will stop at 80%

            • ?
            • Anonymous
            • mXr
            • 27 Mar 2022

            34SciencePigeon, 27 Mar 2022In my Opinion, as I tested battery life of my handsets (Not... moreVery well said, true

            +1

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              • AnonD-844232
              • 39y
              • 27 Mar 2022

              cyber, 27 Mar 2022slow charging,only original charger and baterry,no chinese ... morenot just sansung today all smartphone manufs using same technology batteries.. made in same factories... just that top cover and brand is laser printed with software

                • ?
                • Anonymous
                • mXr
                • 27 Mar 2022

                Anonymous, 27 Mar 2022You need to admit chinese brands push this because they wan... moreAbsolutely true

                +1

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                  • AnonD-844232
                  • 39y
                  • 27 Mar 2022

                  Anonymous, 27 Mar 2022You need to admit chinese brands push this because they wan... moreBullsht
                  Nobody replacing batteries these days.. That was in the past.. doesn't matter how u charging li-ion battery still will last 2 to 4 years and by that time ppl will upgrade phones to new ones..

                    • ?
                    • Anonymous
                    • LiP
                    • 27 Mar 2022

                    cyber, 27 Mar 2022slow charging,only original charger and baterry,no chinese ... moreI completely agree with you and think how fast charging is here to make us buy new devices sooner (most of people buy new device when battery can't hold a charge on their current one). Of course none of the brands won't tell you that and expose themselves.

                    I have Xperia XA2 Ultra from 2018. Even after four years of intensive use, battery still holds entire day with moderate use. I only used official (slow) charger which came with phone even though it support some fast charging technology.

                      • ?
                      • Anonymous
                      • fCC
                      • 27 Mar 2022

                      Instead of fast charging they should come up with battery life span innovations. i don't care if my phone charges in 20 minutes or an hour

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                        • cyber
                        • S2D
                        • 27 Mar 2022

                        slow charging,only original charger and baterry,no chinese brands this is the recepie for long batery life on all of my phones so far,ive replaced battery on s4 3 years ago-straigt from samsung still rock solid,a3 2017 still holding a day and a half no need replacement

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                          • AngryLithuanian
                          • my9
                          • 27 Mar 2022

                          The fastest possible.
                          15-20min on 100+ watts is better for your battery in terms of heat than 90min on 30 watts. And if the battery life is good you'll stress your battery for a less amount of total time during the lifespan of your phone.

                            In my Opinion, as I tested battery life of my handsets (Not gaming), I realized that OS, Hardware and software on top of the OS Play crucial role in Battery life.

                            Why Battery Life?

                            Because all charging speed tests, tend to 0-100%

                            Usage in fact play a more important role in charging speed than the wattage itself.

                            Recently I tested 4 phones for over a month with same tasks to run regularly.
                            Samsung's
                            A12 Nacho 5,000 mAh
                            A9 (2018) 3,800 mAh
                            S9+ 3,500 mAh
                            iPhone X 2,716 mAh

                            All of them by 4 aftermarket 5V/3A wall charger.

                            during the test, Relive app was on, Bluetooth, GPS, Same LTE from same carrier, were on.
                            Music played through 3.5mm and Lightning wired earphone with max volume (Not in the ear). After 5 km of walking, (72 min)

                            A12 was 80%
                            A9 was 73%
                            S9+ was 70%
                            X was 55%
                            [they were in 4 fanny pack]

                            after another 5 km,
                            A12 70%
                            A9 55%
                            S9 45%
                            X 20%

                            These tests were daily during 13 to 15 pm,

                            Result for me was that with natural heat, and using more sensors, battery usage will be increased in a irregular pattern, and battery usage is different from different steps, from 100% energy loss was more quickly than from 80% draw.

                            So, my decision is to buy bigger battery size in flagship and upper mid range class, thanks to my current usage and if chargers with 5500+ mAh battery arrive, they will be more useful than 5000- mAh with hyper charge tech.

                            After daily walking

                            A12 5,000/15W Needs 70-100% ( Mid 5% + Top 25%) charge time
                            S9 3,500/15W Needs 45-100% ( Low 5% + Mid 25% + Top 25%) charge time
                            X 2,716/15W Needs 20-100% (Base 5% + Low 25% + Mid 25% + Top 25% ) charge ime

                            Now, you can judge by your current fast charger, which is better for you,
                            1- Bigger battery
                            2- Faster Charge
                            3- Both of them (If Applicable)

                              • S
                              • Sam
                              • u1C
                              • 27 Mar 2022

                              Simple question. Can i charge a phone that, let's say, supports 18W charging with a 33W or 67W or 120W charger? Please suggest some related material. I couldn't find anything on youtube. Thanks.

                                Anonymous, 27 Mar 2022This article is pointless. They're all chinese ripoff ... moreDid you read the article?

                                  • S
                                  • Sneed
                                  • 8Wb
                                  • 27 Mar 2022

                                  Where all my Harvard graduates at? I need you to disprove one another.

                                    • ?
                                    • Anonymous
                                    • 8Kf
                                    • 27 Mar 2022

                                    Strawhat, 27 Mar 2022Fake news, xiaomi guarantee for at least 800 charging cycle... moreLook at 12 Pro, needs to be charged 2x per day even under average use.
                                    800 cycles will be basically 13 months at most.

                                    Hottest device among all using 8g1 (worst from android authority).
                                    Hottest while charging.

                                    Lame attempt to make user forget the downgrades compared to previous phones.
                                    Just like 2013-2015, chinese phones bet on offereing more RAM/storage instead of making better phone.

                                    If you do not believe, go charge laptop everyday. Battery will be bad in few months.

                                    Just as article shows, you will not see 100/120/150/200W paired with 5500/6000mAh.
                                    Always limited to 5.000. Which is gonna force users addicted to phones to charge more than once within 24h.

                                    LOL, imagine those people that play games while phone is charging.
                                    57 celsius just charging, I wonder how much while gaming + charging.

                                      • ?
                                      • Anonymous
                                      • 4}n
                                      • 27 Mar 2022

                                      This article is pointless. They're all chinese ripoff brands. That's why the batteries are worse. Meanwhile, Samsung with 25W fast charging still maintains the same 5000mAh capacity for the past three generations even with newer fast charging technologies in new gens.

                                        • ?
                                        • Anonymous
                                        • 63x
                                        • 27 Mar 2022

                                        YUKI93, 27 Mar 2022For me, anything above 50W is overkill. Even 45W is more th... moreI'm with you. I always use bypass charging feature from my ASUS ROG Phone 5 as the battery stays cooler than normal standard charging. Heat suppression or bypass charging feature should me made mandatory for all phones with three-digit charging.