Fastest charging phones in 2023

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Fastest charging phones in 2023
Fast charging is one of those features in a phone that have developed exponentially throughout the last few years, and continue to do so. Phone manufacturers, especially those in China, regularly push the boundaries of charging tech, surprising us with innovative approaches.

The results of all these efforts we can clearly see in todays modern handsets, some of which can fully charge in under half an hour. Consequently, this also means that people's charging habits have also changed. Juicing up your phone throughout the night, for example, is a habit that slowly but surely is disappearing, as it is not necessary anymore.

One of the commonly raised concerns with fast charging tech, however, is the negative effect it can have on the overall battery life span. On that regard, manufacturers have also began to focus on ways to mitigate that issue, by regulating the temperatures of the phone that is being charged, since higher temperature is the main reason a battery's life span shortens over time.

With all of this in mind, we have compiled all of the popular recent phones to compare how fast they are able to recharge.

Below, you will find the fastest charging phones out there along with a few details about the technologies used by each of the companies making them.


Which is the fastest charging phone in the world?


The fastest charging phone at the moment is arguably the Redmi Note 12 Explorer from Xiaomi, which comes with a 210W maximum charging speed. It's 4,300mAh battery can fill up from 0-100% in around 9 minutes.

A close runner-up is the iQOO 10 Pro that comes with a top charging speeds of 200W, which is advertised as enough to juice up the phone from 0-100% in about 10 minutes.

Of course, we can't forget to mention OnePlus here too, as the OnePlus 10T supports 160W and with the SuperVOOC charger inside the box we measured it to go from 0 to 100% in 23 minutes. Keep in mind that we do our tests with the phone being completely drained.

Phone charging speeds by brand


Below, you will find the supported charging speeds for all major phone brands.

*phone comes with a slower charger in the box.
**phone comes with a faster charger in the box.

You can find a complete list of all the devices that support the Qualcomm QuickCharge standard here

iPhones Fast Charging Explained


Starting with the iPhone 8 back in late 2017, Apple has adopted the USB Power Delivery standard and all new iPhones released since then, including the recent iPhone 12 family, support this fast charging technology.

However, starting with the iPhone 12 series, Apple no longer includes a charger in the box and you need to purchase one separately. Apple is selling its own official 20W USB-C Power Adapter for around $20, and you will also need a USB-C to Lightning cable if you don't own one.

Can you use a third-party power adapter that is not made by Apple and still get those fast, 20W charging speeds? The answer is mostly yes, but make sure that the adapter you purchase supports the USB Power Delivery (USB-PD) standard. For example, a standard Samsung phone charger also supports the same USB-PD standard and will also deliver a fast charge to iPhones safely. You also have numerous third party options with names like Anker being among the most reliable brands.

Samsung Galaxy Fast Charging Explained


Samsung has been supporting different fast charging standards in the past, but it has finally adopted the widespread USB Power Delivery standard with the Galaxy S20 series and the Note 10 series of phones.

Interestingly, the latest Samsung phones (including the S21 Ultra) don't support the 45W fast charging speeds that Samsung introduced with the Note 10, and instead max out at 25W. Samsung will not officially confirm what's the reason behind that, but long-term battery preservation might be one possible reason.

Earlier Samsung phones like the Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus, S10 and S10e only support the Qualcomm QuickCharge 2.0 standard and they max out at charging speeds of 15W.

Google Pixel Fast Charging Explained


Google has been among the earliest companies to adopt fast charging via the USB Power Delivery standard and all the way back in late 2016 when the original Google Pixel launched, it already came with a 18W fast charger in the box. It was also one of the first phones to use the USB-C standard on both ends of the line for charging.

Can you use a faster 25W or 45W power adapter to charge Google Pixel phones even quicker? The answer is no, the phone is configured to receive a maximum charge of 18W so you won't see any benefit from plugging it to a more powerful charger.

LG ThinQ Fast Charging Explained


LG supports the Qualcomm QuickCharge 4.0 fast charging standard with a maximum charge rate of 21 watts on phones like the LG G8X ThinQ and the LG V50 ThinQ, but the charger provided in the box can provide a maximum of 16 watts of power, so you might want to invest in a faster charger to use the maximum speed.

In fact, this 16W charger that goes by the name of LG Travel Power Adapter is compatible with most LG phones like the LG G7, LG G6, LG G5, LG V40, LG V30, LG V20, and even affordable phones like the LG Stylo 5 and LG Stylo 4. This power adapter features a standard USB port, and not the newer USB-C type.

With the newer LG V60 ThinQ, you get a more modern 25W USB-C charger with support for the Qualcomm QuickCharge 4.0+ standard.

OnePlus Fast Charging Explained


OnePlus phones use a proprietary charging standard that uses high current (more Amps) rather than high electric pressure (Volts) to deliver a faster charge.

What this means is two things: one, it is a proprietary solution which means that you need to use the OnePlus charger with the OnePlus cable to make use of the fastest charging speeds (thankfully, both are provided for free in the box), and second, it means that other chargers like a USB Power Delivery charger will not be able to deliver its maximum output on OnePlus phones.

In reality, we have found the proprietary OnePlus charger to work extremely well and one advantage it has over other technologies is that it is able to maintain the fast charging rates even while you are using your phone. On other phones, in contrast, charging rates drop noticeably if you use your phone while charging.

Huawei Fast Charging Explained


Huawei also uses a proprietary fast charging solution that goes by the name Huawei SuperCharge.

Starting with the Mate 20 Pro in late 2018, Huawei is shipping its flagships with a 40W charger that is capable of topping up the phones extremely quickly. Prior to that, the Huawei P20 Pro used a 22.5W fast charger. And recent phones like the Huawei Mate XS foldable now comes with a 65W charger in the box (the maximum charging speeds of that phone are limited to 55W, though).

Can you use a third party power adapter with Huawei phones? The answer is yes, but don't expect to get the same fast charging speeds.

Oppo and Realme Fast Charging Explained


Chinese company Oppo is not popular in Western markets, but its budget off-shoot Realme is picking up pace in many places across the globe, and one of the key selling features is a super fast charging rate.

In fact, the Oppo Ace Reno was the first commercially available phone that would support 65W charging speeds. This phone is able to get a 70% charge in just 15 minutes, and charges fully in about half an hour. Truly impressive. But what technology does it use?

The technology is similar to what is used in OnePlus phones (which are part of the Oppo group of companies). It's called Super VOOC 2.0 and it uses pumps up power at a rate of 10V and 6.5A, and it also uses GaN technology to achieve that in a relatively compact package.

This charger, however, will only work with few very specific phones and will charger other phones at a rate of just 10 watts.

As for Realme phones, the Realme X50 Pro 5G supports 65W charging via the same technology and the phone would also charge at rates of 18W with a QC/PD charger and 30W with the company's Flash Charge power adapter.

Xiaomi and Redmi Fast Charging Explained


The Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra has raised the bar for the industry and comes with a 120W charger in the box.

The charger provided in the box also supported the QC4.0+ and Power Delivery 3.0 standards, so it is technically compatible with many other phones as well.
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