What is fast charging? Does it charge mobile phones way faster than a regular charger? What about safety? Can it damage your mobile phone? You can find answers to these and more questions in this article. Read more!
The name itself says it all - it charges fast. But you might ask “how?”.
Amperage and voltage are used to measure the output of a charge. Amperage (also knows as current) is the amount of electricity flowing from a battery to a connected device. Voltage is the strength of the electric current. Multiplying amps by volts gives wattage - the measure of total power.
A standard and the unbranded charger has 5 Volts and 1 Amperage (Current). Gradually, more standard chargers are provided with 5 Volts and 2 Amperages.
The higher these numbers are, the more current and energy flow through the battery, then the battery can be charged faster.
However, it is not all. Despite the advancement of high-tech chargers and their superiority over standard chargers - even 20 times more total power - every phone has limitations. Every smartphone can accept a specific amount of energy. If you have a phone that does not have a fast charging technology, then even the best charger will not quickly charge the phone.
Most modern smartphones accept up to 18 Watts.
High-tech power banks give you options: charge your device by regular USB port or fast charging ports.
Anker PowerCore 20000 has onboard a regular USB port and their branded Quick Charge 3.0, both input and output.
Ravpower 20100 Powerbank has even more ports: Quick Charge 3.0; Regular USB Port; and Type-C 3A. Furthermore, it can be charged by the Quick Charge Port.
Why would you use a standard USB Port, charge your device a longer time if you can use fast charging?
The result of increased current and voltage is an efficiency decline. During fast charging, some of the power stored in power banks is wasted. During the conversion of power bank batteries - operate at 3.7 to 4.5 Volts - to match USB ports of mobile phones, it already causes energy waste. Likewise, charging at massive currents, more energy is wasted during charging.
It might not be as crucial if you use a wall charger; essentially, you have unlimited energy after all. However, power banks store a specific amount of energy. If your goal is to use the stored energy efficiently, charge your devices as many times as possible; using fast-charging ports will be inefficient.
If you have a big power bank and you can easily charge it daily, it is unlikely to be an issue. But what if you are traveling, hiking, or/and camping? Access to electricity might be limited; therefore, efficiency is the key.
What is the negative impact on your mobile phone, particularly on a battery? Does it cause damage?
If you charge your devices safely and ideally, either you use an original charger or a high-quality alternative - then this is nothing to worry about.
The main factors that damage batteries are: overheating, high current, overloading, and discharging. You should avoid all of them to keep your phone on possibly the highest condition.
Most mobile phones nowadays have safety features in place, which will disconnect the power supply once the battery is fully loaded. However, if for some reason, your device is overheated during charging, either the phone or charging device is faulty, and you should disconnect your devices immediately.
Fast charging is safe. Reputable manufactures take good care to keep chargers and charged devices safe.
You need a cable to connect a charger and a mobile phone, right? Unless you use wireless charging, but this is another story.
A low-quality charging cable does not supply as much current to a phone as a high-quality charging cable.
Length also matters! If it is possible, better to use short cables than long ones. A shorter distance between devices increases efficiency.
Fast charging might - but not must - increase the heat of your phone. The first concern is the degradation of the battery due to extensive heat. But as long as the heat is not disturbingly high, there is nothing to worry about.
However, if your phone is alarmingly hot and also affects its performance, unplug the charger immediately.
Fast Charging technology has gone through a long way and improved significantly throughout this time. Allowing us now to charge a mobile phone within 30 minutes, without overheating and with excellent efficiency. Furthermore, USB-C and USB-PD will even improve further and bring universality amongst all our electronic devices.