How to Determine How Much Charger Power You Need?

It might be confusing when you need a new USB charger since you probably don’t know exactly how many watts your gadget needs to operate. Low-power gadgets can be charged with high-wattage chargers, although their performance may not much increase. Using a low-wattage charger to charge a high-power gadget might overload it and cause it to overheat. That reduces the lifespan of the charger and hastens battery aging, which is not worth the sacrifice. So how do you determine the right wattage charger for your device? The advice in this article will help you select a USB charger with the appropriate wattage for your device.

Important Information Regarding USB Charger Watts

The majority of USB chargers have a 5-volt rating; however, some can push greater voltages to charge devices more quickly. When picking the best USB charger, make sure the charger offers adequate current to charge your mobile device as quickly as possible in addition to voltage. In general, USB chargers are labeled with symbols like 5V 3 A, 9V 3 A, 11V 3 A, 12V 2.25 A, 10V 4 A, etc., indicating that they can genuinely produce different powers.

For Android and iPhone Devices 

Most iPhones and Android phones can be charged using 5W (5V1A) of power. However, at least 18W of energy is needed for rapid charging if your smartphone supports it, regardless of whether it runs iOS or Android. Higher wattage can result in quicker charging, whereas higher wattage is necessary for fast charging on higher-performance mobile phones. The iPhone 12 requires at least 20W for fast charging, for example. Please remember to use a USB charging cable that supports fast charging if you select a higher-wattage USB charger with a fast-charging feature. If not, the quick charging can be significantly diminished.

For tablets and iPads

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Tablets offer more features and larger screens than phones, therefore their batteries are bigger, and they need more power to charge. The majority of tablets, including the Galaxy Tab and iPad, need at least 10(5V2A) 12W (5V2.4A) to charge. Naturally, some tablets also provide quick charging, such as the iPad, which can deliver up to 30W (5V 3A) of electricity.

Fast-Charging Devices

There are three popular rapid charging protocols: Quick Charge, Programmable Power Supply, and Power Delivery (QC). The wattage that various methods support varies as well. Let’s say a mobile phone purchase includes a USB charger. When that occurs, it often only employs one of the aforementioned charging technology created by the maker of the mobile phone. There are many third-party charger alternatives available, and they often support more than two of the charging protocols mentioned above to better accommodate your different mobile devices. Please check to see if your smartphone supports the aforementioned fast charging protocol before buying a USB charger. Then, choose the proper output power to make the most of the fast-charging feature and save charging time.

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How much power should my charger have?

As previously mentioned, the common chargers used by the majority of smart device makers have a 5W output. To match better-performance gadgets, 5W is gradually upgraded to greater wattages as technology continues to advance at an accelerating rate. If you don’t care about charging speed and your smartphone doesn’t support fast charging, 5W or the lowest charging wattage recommended for your device will do. A high charging wattage such as a 65w charger is necessary because a high-performance gadget needs a big battery to serve various operations. If it’s a phone, 20W is a great wattage that will swiftly and safely charge the majority of cell phones. If it’s a laptop, you must select an appropriate USB charger from 30W to 140W based on the model.