If you go to a local market and ask for a charger, the shopkeeper will flood you with options, claiming super fast charging support, the best charger, and whatnot! A normal customer with no prior knowledge would head on to buy a fake or an incompatible charger, for sure. That’s why, I’m here to tell you everything about how to buy the right charger for your phone in this Ultimate Charger Buying Guide article.

Ultimate Charger Buying Guide:

Before heading directly to the ultimate charging guide, we must learn about our smartphones’ various charging protocols. While the Type-C port or micro USB (on older phones) is the common ground for every smartphone for charging, how it specifies the voltage and the current to be adopted can be different from one brand to another. So, these are the charging protocols available in the market.

1. Power Delivery (PD)

Power Delivery, USB-PD, or most commonly known as PD is the universal fast-charging standard with USB-C to USB-C medium. It stretches the support to smartphones like iPhones, iPads, Macbooks, Google Pixel phones, and Samsung phones. Not only Smartphone, PD charging also stretches its support to laptops, Macbooks, tablets, handheld gaming consoles, and such. Operating through a USB-C output port, the newly announced PD 3.1 version supports up to a whopping 240W fast charging. But for now, the practical amount of power, a PD-supported device takes, is 140W. So, 140W PD GaN chargers are found in the market.

• Supported Devices:- iPhones, iPads, Macbooks, Samsung Galaxy phones, Google Pixel phones, Nothing/CMF phones and PD-supported laptop
• Cross Compatibility:- Quick Charge, Xiaomi Hyper Charge, Honor Super Charge, Motorola Turbo Charge

2. Qualcomm Quick Charge

Qualcomm Quick Charge is a fast-charging technology developed to reduce the time it takes to charge devices equipped with Qualcomm processors. Quick Charge provides faster charging than traditional methods by increasing the power delivered through compatible chargers. It uses advanced voltage and current management to ensure efficiency and safety. Over its various iterations, Quick Charge has introduced features like backward compatibility, temperature control, and support for USB Power Delivery. But do remember, not all phones with Snapdragon processor would support Quick Charge as they have their charging protocols.

• Supported Devices:- Devices with Qualcomm Chip
• Cross Compatibility:- Power Delivery, Xiaomi HyperCharge

3. Xiaomi HyperCharge

Xiaomi’s HyperCharge was introduced in 2022. It’s still based on Qualcomm Quick Charge technology though. Currently, we have 120W as the highest power supply from a Xiaomi HyperCharge adaptor. It has over 40 safety protections, including over-current, over-voltage, and overheating safeguards.

• Supported Devices:- Xiaomi, Redmi, Poco
• Cross Compatibility:- Power Delivery, Quick Charge

4. SuperVOOC

SuperVOOC is Oppo’s fast-charging technology, designed to deliver quick and efficient power to devices. It operates using a low-voltage, high-current system, which helps optimize charging speed while maintaining safety. By utilizing a dual-cell battery design, it distributes the charging load evenly for better performance.

• Supported Devices:- OnePlus, Oppo, Realme
• Cross Compatibility:- Power Delivery

5. Flash Charge

Flash Charge is Vivo’s proprietary fast-charging technology, designed to provide rapid and reliable smartphone power delivery. It uses a high current, low voltage system to achieve faster charging speeds, similar to Oppo’s SuperVOOC tech. Flash Charge employs advanced safety protocols, such as real-time temperature monitoring and multiple protection layers, to ensure efficient and secure charging. Over time, Vivo has introduced upgrades like the 120W Flash Charge, capable of fully charging a smartphone in under 20 minutes.

• Supported Devices:- Vivo, iQOO
• Cross Compatibility:- Power Delivery

6. Honor SuperCharge

Honor SuperCharge is the fast-charging technology developed by Honor to deliver quick and efficient power to its devices. Designed for convenience and safety, it uses high wattage with optimized voltage and current management to significantly reduce charging times. With its higher power outputs, such as the 100W version in newer devices, it can charge a phone to a substantial percentage in just minutes, making it a practical solution for users with busy lifestyles.

• Supported Devices:- Honor phones
• Cross Compatibility:- Power Delivery

7. Motorola Turbo Power

Moto TurboPower is Motorola’s proprietary fast-charging technology designed to deliver quick and reliable power to its devices. Compatible with Qualcomm Quick Charge standards, TurboPower adapts charging speed based on the device’s needs to maximize efficiency and battery health. With high power outputs, such as 33W or more in newer iterations, it can provide hours of battery life in just a few minutes of charging.

• Supported Devices:- Motorola phones

• Cross Compatibility:- Power Delivery (PD), Quick Charge

8. Tecno/Infinix’s Fast Charge

Tecno/Infinix doesn’t have a name for its fast-charging technology. But during my tests (Detailed info upcoming), Tecno’s phones are also compatible with a fast PD charger. The recently launched Tecno Pova 6 has 70W fast charging support and I charged it with a 65W GaN PD charger and it was able to draw up to 18W of fast charging. (Detailed results are below).

• Supported Devices:- Tecno phones
• Cross Compatibility:- PD

Cross Compatibility Tests on Different Smartphones with Different Charging Standards

So, I have taken various smartphones to give you a more profound example of understanding the cross-compatibility between various charging protocols. All of these use a different protocol. During the tests, all of the devices’ batteries were under 10%; that’s where a smartphone can leverage the maximum power wattage from a charger. Likewise, I have used the volt meter from Satechi, which shows current and volt. Multipending both gives you the Wattage info.

 Findings from the Test:

• Realme Narzo 70 Pro which uses 67W SuperVOOC charging was incapable of taking fast charge from all the protocols mentioned above.
• Poco X6 Pro with 67W HyperCharge support can take fast charging up to 25W from a Power Delivery charger. Other protocols cannot provide fast charging.
• Samsung Galaxy S24 FE supports 25W PD charging, natively. However, the Xiaomi HyperCharge was also able to provide up to 14W of charging speed, while the other protocols couldn’t cater to fast charging.
• iQOO Neo 9 Pro relies on 120W FlashCharge support and takes 99W from its own charger while, it also takes 22W from a 65W PD charger and 17W from Xiaomi HyperCharge.  As I expected, the other protocols couldn’t provide fast charging.
• iPhone 15 takes 25W of PD charging and it is also compatible with HyperCharge (20W), and Power Delivery charger (25W).
• Honor 200 has native 100W SuperCharge support and I found it taking 69W from the default charger and 51W of power from a PD charger. Meanwhile, the protocols failed to provide fast charging for this guy.
• Likewise, we have 70W fast charging support on the Tecno Pova 6. It took 47W during our test from its original charger while the 65W PD and 80W Vivo FlashCharge charger could cater it 16W and 18W of charging respectively.

So it should be pretty clear that the best charger to buy for your smartphone is the official charger. If it’s unavailable, you can go for the best cross-compatible charging protocol!

Ultimate Charger Buying Guide: Types of Chargers

Wired Chargers in the present day can be classified into two types: GaN chargers and normal chargers. If you’re hearing the word GaN for the very first time, let me break it down for you. Unlike normal chargers which use silicon semiconductors inside, GaN chargers use Gallium Nitride semiconductors which are much better in power conversion efficiency and heat dissipation. 

Difference between GaN and a Normal Charger

Size

The visible difference between a Gallium Nitride (GaN) charger and a normal charger is in their sizes. GaN chargers are smaller and lightweight as compared to a normal charger. Take a look at this picture, the white one is a 65W Realme charger while the black and grey is a 65W GaN charger from Ugreen. The latter one is smaller. 

Heat Dissipation

It’s completely normal for a charger to heat up during usage. But a GaN charger comes in handy with better heat dissipation. This ensures safety and better power conversion at the same time. On the other hand, a normal charger may stay hot due to inferior heat dissipation as compared.

Ports

Talking of the ports, a normal charger would mostly consist of a single USB-A or USB-C port. but most of the GaN chargers come with multiple ports. So you can charge your phones, laptop, and TWS at the same time without the hassle of needing more adapters. 

Charging Protocols

Almost every GaN charger in the market has PD protocol (USB-C to USB-C) on them, which goes well for your PD-supported smartphones like iPhones, Google Pixel, Samsung, laptops, and other devices. Likewise, the GaN charger with USB-C and USB-A ports can also support QuickCharge support with the latter.  I mentioned the word “Almost” because, Xiaomi also ships GaN chargers in their Redmi Note and flagship series in China with GaN tech but with a USB-A port and HyperCharge protocol. 

Likewise, a normal charger can be based on various protocols as aforementioned, which differ as per the smartphone company or manufacturer. For example, a normal charger from Honor comes with SuperCharge protocol, one from Vivo has FlashCharge, one from OnePlus comes with SuperVOOC, and so on. Just that, they don’t have a Gallium Nitride semiconductor inside.

Safety Measures

In terms of safety measures, a GaN charger from a reputed brand provides multiple layers of protection. Taking an example of the Ugreen 100W Uno GaN charger, you get protection against overcurrent, overvoltage, short circuit, overtemperature, overpower, anti-inter reference, lightning, and flame retardant shell protection.

A normal charger would also have some sort of protection against overcurrent and short circuits if it comes from a reputed brand. But it wouldn’t advanced level of protection as found in a GaN charger.

Pricing

Pricing is the only factor where a normal charger takes a point. Because GaN chargers are expensive compared to. But if you properly dig into the pricing and such, adding more money would seem wise as GaN chargers come with many perks over the traditional ones. But be advised, GaN chargers support PD protocol mainly and QuickCharge with USB-A ports. So, you might not get the best charging speed on your phone (check the cross-compatibility chart mentioned above).

• Also Check:- GaN PD Charger vs a Normal PD Charger, Which one to go for and why?

Why do you need the right charger for your smartphone?

• Safety: The primary concern is safety. Using a wrong or counterfeit charger can cause your phone to overheat, leading to the potential start of a fire.
• Charging Speed:- The right charger will provide an adequate amount of charging speed for your phone. While a wrong charger can cause a lower charging speed.
• Battery Health:- A right charger is also healthy for your battery life while a wrong one can do exactly the opposite.

Ultimate Charger Buying Guide: How to pick the right charger for your phone?

• First of all, you should know the charging protocol of your smartphone. Whether it is using QuickCharge, PD, HyperCharge, SuperVOOC, FlashCharge, TurboCharge, SuperCharge, or such.
• Also, check the power output you need before buying. If your smartphone supports 33W of fast charging, you should purchase a 33W charger. But the main thing is, that it should match the protocol.
• Then, you can head to a trusted store to buy an official charger for your phone. Be advised, that the local market is filled with dozens of counterfeit so-called fast chargers. So, I always recommend you to go to an official store/site. Plus never buy an unbranded charger.
• In Nepal, only Xiaomi/Redmi, Vivo, Samsung, and Apple’s official chargers are sold. As writing this article, I haven’t found the original chargers for OnePlus, Realme, Motorola, Tecno, Infinix, and Honor phones being sold officially. So chances are, you will find a lot of fake chargers of those companies.
• If there are no official chargers to buy, check the most compatible cross-platform protocol. And then, buy that charger.
• Also, you always have to buy original cables or at least good-quality cables that meet the adaptor’s requirements.
• SuperVOOC protocol in Oppo/OnePlus/Realme smartphones and FlashCharge of Vivo/iQOO phones use a high amp cable such as 6A, 8A, 10A, and low volt adaptor like 5-10V, depending on the charging power. For eg, an 80W SuperVOOC or FllashCharge adaptor will need an 8A cable to charge your supported Oppo/OnePlus/Realme and Vivo/iQOO phones with maximum speed.
• If budget is not your concern, you can get a braided USB cable from reputed companies like Ugreen, Xiaomi/Redmi, and Anker.

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