Which Smartphone Charges the Fastest? [Chart]

Iclarified ^ | August 25, 2015

[Moltke]

Milliamps itself is a measurement of charge flow per unit of time, so milliamps per unit of time would be what, a measurement of the acceleration of the flow of charge?

They perhaps meant to multiply with time which would yield the accumulated charge (in Coulombs).

[vpintheak]

Well smarty pants, I close all my apps every day and can do the same thing. So...

[NY.SS-Bar9]

I use my phone all day

Charged for 30 minutes while listening to an audiobook and running Waze on the way into work.

My battery meter says I still have 49% & 17 hours to go.

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

Heat is what kills batteries, and faster charging at higher currents produce more heat.

It would follow, then, that the maximum temperature would come from the maximum current - and thus, for a given amount of charge of a given duration of time, the minimum temperature would be attained by minimizing the maximum rate of charging - by making it equal to the minimum rate. IOW, constant charge rate.

For Lithium batteries, a constant current is required, so the applied voltage will change as the battery charges to maintain a constant current

Everything is clear. The voltage listed is not what appears at the terminals - the voltage applied to the terminals is whatever it takes to produce the nominal current.

A current source, rather than a voltage source.

[minnesota_bound]

Get the right charger. I bought this and the phone and tablet charge quickly. Faster then the provided charger.

Mopower 36 Watt 7.2A Portable 4 Ports
http://www.amazon.com/Charger-Mopower-Portable-Adapter-Technology/dp/B00V4JI7G0/ref=pd_bxgy_147_img_z

[TheBattman]

A couple of thoughts...

Modern battery technology still has some “issues” - one of which is you must make a choice - battery life (long-term) or convenience when it comes to charging. Regardless of the software behind charing (Apple makes a big deal out of their regulation of charging), the higher the amperage you charge at (aka - faster charge), the shorter life that battery will have. The long-standing rule of battery charging (regardless of battery type), is that a slow charge is better for it. Deep cycling of the battery on a regular basis is also hard on it.

So - while the convenience of a fast charge might be appealing, realize that it comes at a price - and that is the physical battery will need to be replaced sooner (and the overall life per-charge will also diminish quicker).

Now - with a lot of consumers, they don’t keep a device long enough for this to be a major problem.

[TheBattman]

Yep - I left that factor out of my post...

What are the rated capacities of the batteries in these devices? I would definitely be interested in seeing if that correlates with the charging times at all...

[TheBattman]

Look for any documentation you might have received when you bought it - If you bought the warranty under the claim of $100 replacement/repair, then they cannot arbitrarily change that deductible to $150...

[TheBattman]

Also - and I cannot speak to Android devices on this matter - but an iPhone reaches “100%”, it actually is NOT 100% charged. Indeed, for the last couple of % and beyond the indicated 100%, the battery continues to “trickle charge” up to the maximum capacity of the battery (which decreases with every charge).

[Sam Gamgee]

I am looking to buy out my contract and charging duration is my number 1 beef with all cell phones. I am thinking the S5 must be just behind the S6? Will likely get the S6 - just that the S5 is quite a bit cheaper. I’m Canadian so we have the least competitive phone market in the Western world, meaning plans here are an outrage.

[Sam Gamgee]

I’m constantly running out of charge on my phone and like to use it on the bus to and from work, so it’s a big deal to me.

[Hodar]

There is a direct correlation between charging rate, and battery temperature. The faster the phone charges, the hotter the battery gets.

There is a direct correlation between battery temperature and battery life. The hotter a battery gets, the shorter it’s expected life expectancy will be.

So, what would you rather have, a phone that charges slower - but with a battery that dependably lasts more than a year or two; or a phone that charges very fast but with a battery life that is just not that great?

I’ll wait for the slower charging, but more dependable battery.