How to choose a charger for your phone

When choosing a charger should pay attention primarily to the electrical characteristics of the power supply.

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How to choose a charger for your phone: what to look for
Types of chargers
Main selection criteria
How to choose an external charger
Top manufacturers

we choose charging for phone

How to choose a charger for your phone: what to look for

The main criteria when choosing a charger are:

Type (standard adapter or external power bank);
Electrical characteristics (voltage, charging current, power);
Support for fast charging technologies (Quick Charge, Fast Charge, etc.);
The number of connectors for the cable and the voltage of each of them.
Important is also the manufacturer of the charger.

Types of chargers

Structurally and on the principle of operation, the chargers are divided into two types - the adapters themselves, they are the power supply units; and external chargers, better known as "powerbank".

Adapters or power supplies

Adapters are constructively conventional electrical transducers that rectify and reduce voltage. Such devices are intended for charging a phone or a smartphone from a household network. According to the results of the conversion, the alternating current with a voltage of 220 V and a power of 5-6 A “turns” into a DC, whose parameters are 5-18 V and 0.5-2.1 A, depending on the characteristics and purpose of the adapter.

Adapters are made in the form of small blocks that are installed in a household outlet. They are connected to the power cable, through which the converted electrical current and "passes" to the smartphone.

Construction adapters are divided into household, intended for installation in a regular outlet, and car, powered by a cigarette lighter or the corresponding socket. Despite the similar principle of work, they are not interchangeable.

The main criteria when choosing an adapter are the parameters input voltage, output voltage, current and support for fast charging technology.

Separately, it is worth mentioning another type of power supply - wireless chargers. Such devices recharge a smartphone that comes in contact with them. Of course, the smartphone itself should support wireless charging.

External batteries or power banks

External batteries, which may also be called portable chargers, power banks, etc., have the same operational purpose as power supply units — they are used to charge a smartphone. However, the principles of operation of these devices are fundamentally different.

Powerbank structurally is a high-capacity battery. It is supplemented with various functional elements - a charge controller, LED indicators, power connectors, buttons, etc. The principle of operation of the power bank is as follows:

First, the external battery is charged from a power source (for example, from an adapter or a computer via a USB cable);
Then he “holds” accumulated energy for some time;
When the smartphone is connected, the power bank transfers the accumulated energy to the connected device.

In fact, the powerbank is designed for emergency recharging of a smartphone in conditions where it is impossible to reach the outlet or not for this time - on trips, for example.

When choosing a power bank, it is worthwhile to build on the following criteria: capacity, charge current, body material, support for fast charging technologies.

Main selection criteria

Criterias of choice

When choosing a charger, pay attention to the following parameters:

Input current and standard outlets (especially important when ordering in foreign online stores);
Charge current;
Charge voltage;
Support fast charging technology.

All these parameters determine the compatibility of the charger and smartphone.

Input current and standard outlets

In Russian household electrical networks, a current with a voltage of 220 V, a force of 5-6 A is used (however, when connecting high-power equipment such as kitchen appliances, this parameter significantly increases up to 18-19 A) and a frequency of 50-60 Hz. These parameters must be supported by the charger.

At the same time, in the USA, household networks are used, in which the voltage is 110 V. The adapter, intended for use in America, can simply burn out in the Russian "socket".

As a result, when ordering a charger in any online stores you should first of all pay attention to the supported input voltage. Some adapters can work in any networks.

Also worth considering that the outlets in different countries also differ. Type C connectors are used in Russia. You can install Europlug, Schuko, CEE 7/7, CEE 7/16 or CEE 7/17 plugs into “our” sockets.

But types A and B (NEMA standards) used in the United States and Canada are not suitable for use with Russian sockets without corresponding adapters.

Charge current

The charge rate of a smartphone directly depends on the strength of the charge current. The higher it is - the faster the device will restore the energy in the battery. At the same time, it is worth remembering that old smartphones are simply not designed for high charge currents.

But a low charge current can lead to the fact that the smartphone does not charge at all - it will simply be discharged, even when connected to the network. The standards for this parameter are:

500 mA (0.5 A). Suitable for use with mobile phones or very old smartphones. Such a charging current is not able to cover the “fixed costs” of a modern high-power mobile device, but it is necessary and sufficient for devices manufactured, for example, until 2010-2011;
750 mA (0.75 A). It is very rare. Scope of application is similar to charging, calculated at 0.5 A;
1000 mA (1 A). The most common current standard current in chargers. It is quite versatile, suitable for use with most mobile devices - from mobile phones or portable players to smartphones in the budget or medium price segments;
2000-21000 mA (2-2.1 A). It is used for demanding devices - for example, tablets or flagship smartphones with a high-resolution screen and a productive processor. May be dangerous for old devices. Provides high charging speed and stable power even with active operation of the connected device.

It is advisable to use power supplies that have the same amperage as the complete to the smartphone. This, however, does not apply to adapters that support fast charging technology.

It is worth remembering that manufacturers of low-end power supplies often deliberately overestimate the output current. For example, a device that is marked as 1 A can actually produce 0.5 A. Therefore, the quality of the power supply is also very important.

Charge voltage

Virtually all modern smartphones, unless otherwise noted, are powered by a charge current with a voltage of 5 V.This standard is used, for example, in the USB ports of a computer. As a result, for the compatibility of a smartphone with a PC, it must receive 5-volt current.

Therefore, definitely not worth buying chargers or power supplies that have a supply voltage of more or less than 5 volts. Such accessories may well “burn” the delicate electronics inside the smartphone or cause damage to the built-in battery.

Similarly, this rule does not apply to adapters that support this or that fast charging technology.

Support fast charging technology

From 2014-2015, many manufacturers began to introduce fast-charging technology. With such a connection, the power supply produces high values of current and voltage in order to restore the battery capacity in the smartphone even faster. The specific value of these electrical parameters is determined by the manufacturer and the standard of fast charging technology, but in general it is up to 5 A and up to 20 V, respectively.

The fast charging technology is implemented at a low software and hardware level and involves the exchange between the smartphone and the power supply not only electricity, but also information. For example, the power controller in a smartphone sends a “command” to the power supply unit to increase the current and voltage, and that one, respectively, performs. Or not, if it does not support fast charging technology.

It is clear that if you connect a smartphone in which it is not implemented to the power supply unit supporting fast charging technology, the latter will receive less current.

However, fast charging standards vary widely. There are the following:

Quick Charge. A standard developed by Qualcomm and supported only by a limited number of SoC processors from this manufacturer;
Pump express. A standard developed by MediaTek. Like Quick Charge, it is supported only by a limited number of SoC processors from this manufacturer (they are installed in most Chinese flagship smartphones);
TurboPower. The standard was developed by Lenovo specifically for some Motorola smartphones;
Adaptive Fast Charging. Samsung's proprietary charging standard. It has been used since 2015 in flagship and upper middle-class smartphones in the S, Note, A, and some other lines;
VOOC Fast Charging - developed by BBK specifically for OPPO smartphones;
Dash Charge - developed by OnePlus for branded smartphones;
Super Charge - standard Huawei;
Super mCharge - Meizu standard.

Standards in most cases are not cross-compatible. Therefore, if the smartphone supports the Samsung Fast Charging fast charging technology, it is worth buying a power supply for it, equipped with the support of this technology. But the Quick Charge adapter will "give out" unless the standard 5V / 2A.

How to choose an external charger

choose an external charger

When choosing a power bank, you should pay attention to three parameters:

Capacity;
Charge current;
Body material.

But the first two are most important.

Capacity

The higher the capacity of the power bank - the more times it is able to recharge the sat down smartphone. However, the actual value of this number is determined by the capacity of the smartphone battery.

For example, if your smartphone is equipped with a 3000 mAh battery:

Powerbank 5000 mAh recharge it 1 time;
A 10,000 mAh powerbank will recharge it 2-2.5 times;
Powerbank at 20,000 mAh will recharge it 5-6 times.

However, the exact number depends on a number of other parameters, including the charge current, the resistance of the connected cable, the weather outside the window, the time elapsed since the moment of charging, and many others. So you should not hope that, for example, a power bank with 5000 mAh can recharge a smartphone with a 2500 mAh battery twice.

Charge current

To choose the value of the charge current is based on the same parameters as for conventional network adapters (power supplies). Given that the stability of the current in the power banks is not too high, it is worthwhile to choose obviously overestimated parameters:

For mobile phones, old smartphones, music players, smart watches, wireless headphones and other gadgets that do not consume high power during operation - 1 A;
For modern smartphones, tablets, low-power laptops - 2-2.5 A.

There are several powerbank models that support fast charging technology. As a result, it is worth considering the compatibility of the charger and the smartphone with which it is planned to use it.

However, power banks that support fast charging technology are not recommended for purchase. The batteries built into them usually “do not survive” “wringing out” of them 20 V / 5 A. Therefore, the capacity of the batteries drops, and after a few months you will have to change the power bank.

Body material

The strength, durability and some performance characteristics of a power bank depend on the case material. Such devices can be made of plastic, metal, as well as supplemented with rubberized inserts.

Plastic is a simple, inexpensive, but fairly reliable material. Power banks with such a body are cheaper than metal ones, but they are badly affected by falling to the floor. However, plastic has an important advantage - external chargers, made in such material, better experience temperature fluctuations in the cold season.
Metal is better experienced any fall and other mechanical effects. However, power banks in such buildings are a bit more expensive. In addition, due to the fact that the metal "accumulates" low temperatures, during the cold season, such devices self-discharge quickly.

Additional inserts - for example, rubber - either protect the power bank from shock effects, or simply make it more beautiful.