One thing we always have with us? The phone, of course! It is assumed that the average person on the planet spends an average of around 3 hours and 15 minutes a day in front of their smartphone screen. In order to keep our devices working, for all this time, they need a good source of energy, i.e. a charger. But how do you choose a charger for your phone? What parameters are worth paying attention to? What are the facts and myths about charging? You will find all the answers in this post.
How to choose a charger for your phone?
It’s best to start with the basics, namely our phone’s charging specifications. This will tell us which charger we should choose so that the phone charges at the right rate. You don’t need to know all the technical parameters of the charging technology to make the right choice. The basic and most important information you should pay attention to is the maximum allowable power supply. It is worth mentioning at this point that the charger must not have too much power. What does this mean? If a phone or other device takes a maximum of, for example, 5W or 10W then a charger of 20W or more can be connected to it without any problem. Higher amperage should not cause you any concern, as most devices are equipped with adequate protection and will only accept as much current as they need. However, remember that it is pointless to buy a high-powered charger if your phone will not be able to accept it. This will not speed up the charging process itself, but will only increase the cost of the charger itself.
Is there anything else worth paying attention to? It should certainly not escape your attention what charging standards your phone or other device supports. Currently, the most popular are Quick Charge and Power Delivery, which can be found in many devices. There are also other charging standards specific to particular brands such as OnePlus with Warp Charge 65 W or Xiaomi with HyperCharge 120 W. Selecting the right compatible standard will ensure faster charging. On the other hand, if we want to choose an inductive charger, it is also worth checking in the specifications the maximum allowable power supply, for this type of charging and whether our phone supports inductive charging at all. With this basic information, we can move on to choosing the right charger.
So many types of chargers just which one to choose?
Knowing the specifications of our phone, we can choose the charger that best suits us. Of course, we have at our disposal classic mains chargers, car chargers and the newer inductive ones. For several years now, the most popular chargers have been those based on fast charging systems. The first such solution was created by Qualcomm, which introduced Quick Charge 1.0 technology in 2012. As mentioned earlier, it is important to match the charger to the fast charging standard. The ideal charger for devices with Power Delivery would be the PD Smart series charger from Forever, which recognises the charging parameters of the device and matches the current to the battery requirements. With a compact form factor, the power of fast charging encapsulated in a compact form factor that can accompany you at all times.
A solution that is gaining in popularity is inductive charging. Did you know that as early as 1899, Nikola Tesla demonstrated a way to transmit electricity through the air? However, it is only recently that this technology is making its way into everyday use. It is certainly a modern and convenient solution; all you have to do is put down your phone, which will start charging wirelessly using an electromagnetic field. For lovers of new technology and aesthetic gadgets, an inductive charger is just perfect, which you can find in the portfolio of Forever, Setta, as well as MaxLife. Everyone can find something for themselves, choosing not only the power of the charger, but also its form, which is often a gadget in itself. Inductive chargers are easy to use and aesthetically pleasing, but have their limitations in the form of lower power and incompatibility with some phone models. This makes it all the more worth checking the specifications of our devices.
What other solutions are worth looking at? Have you heard of GaN technology? Traditional mains chargers use silicon for energy transfer, in GaN technology this has been replaced by gallium nitride. What does this give us? It makes it possible to create chargers that are smaller in size and more efficient, so they provide faster charging of devices. In addition, they are more energy efficient and more durable than traditional mains chargers. You can also find the GaN charger in the Forever brand range.
When choosing a charger, we should also keep in mind the number of charging ports. If you have the need to charge several devices at the same time and are concerned about time, pay attention to how many devices you can plug into one charger. More importantly, read its technical specifications, as the total power of the charger when several devices are connected at the same time will be divided between the individual ports. The power may be split evenly, but it doesn’t have to be, so it’s a good idea to read the specifications so that charging each device goes smoothly. There is one other important thing you should definitely pay your attention to, and that is the cable. Remember that the cable matters! You can even have the best charger, but if the cable cannot handle the power of the charger, your phone will not charge at the fastest rate. You can find out more about cables in our previous post, to which we leave you a link at the end of the article.
How do you keep your batteries in good shape? That is, facts and myths about charging.
To keep our batteries in good shape, we should take a closer look at how we charge our phone. There are many myths about what you should do and what you should avoid. Just how do you know which ones are true and which ones are not necessarily? Let’s take a look at the most popular statements about this process and see how much truth there is in them.
The battery needs to be fully discharged before it can be charged to full for several hours. MYTH
To fully understand this myth we need to go back to the era before smartphones. Some dinosaurs remember that mobile phones back then were equipped with a nickel-cadmium battery. This type of battery had a so-called memory; the longer it was charged the first time, the more capacity it had. Smartphones are usually equipped with lithium-ion and lithium-polymer batteries, which do not have such a memory. This allows us to use the smartphone without having to charge it for a long time.
Always charge your phone to 100%. MYTH
Another myth, it is actually recommended to keep the battery charge below 100%. A battery that is charged to its maximum for an extended period of time can experience high voltage and overheating. It is best to keep the battery level between 20% and 80%.
Charging your phone overnight can be damaging to your battery. FACT
Although it is good for us to charge our batteries at night while we sleep, it is not so good for our devices. As we mentioned earlier, batteries do not like to be charged continuously to 100% of their capacity. Charging your phone all night long, if it is not equipped with an interruption mechanism, charging at 100%, can lead to overheating of the battery and thus can have a negative impact on battery life.
Frequent and short charging is detrimental to the battery. MYTH
Charging your phone regularly is beneficial for the health of its battery. The lifespan of a modern battery is based on charging cycles. It won’t matter whether you charge it once or charge it 5 times at 20%. The battery will retain its capacity longer if you charge your phone regularly for short periods of time. However, remember not to let the battery run down completely.
What should we remember to use our chargers and smartphones correctly? Try to make sure you charge your devices regularly, keeping the battery level between 20% and 80%. Avoid prolonged charging to 100% battery and full battery discharge. Don’t charge your phone overnight and watch out for smartphone overheating. These simple rules will make it easier to take care of our phones’ batteries. However, it is worth remembering two things. Firstly, we won’t ruin our battery in a short period of time; inappropriate use will take up to two years to show its effects. Secondly, many newer smartphone models are equipped with programmes that protect the battery and manage the entire charging process. Such programmes often interrupt the charging process at a specific point in time, keep a reserve of energy in case of low battery levels. In addition, they take care of the charging process itself by ensuring that the right amount of current flows. We hope that the subject of charging is no longer so scary for you. Now you can choose a good charger and use it correctly.
If you want to learn more about how to choose the right cable check out our post https://weknowhow.tech/2022/06/06/the-cable-matters-everything-you-need-to-know-about-it/.
All products mentioned in the article are available at selected online consumer electronics stores.
TelForceOne, owner of the Forever brand, is a part of the Polish TelForceOne S.A. Capital Group and one of the largest manufacturers and distributors of consumer electronics in Poland, as well as Central and Eastern Europe. The company’s portfolio includes modern mobile solutions, consumer electronics and mobile phone accessories.
www.telforceone.pl
