What mobile charger to buy without spending a fortune and that is reliable

You remove the seal from your new mobile phone, open it and… well, it’s no longer a surprise: it comes without a charger. Almost everyone has one (or several) with USB-C that could be useful to you, but What happens if your new phone has a very high fast charge? Well, it’s time to go to the checkout, but be careful when choosing what you buy: there is no need to buy a very expensive one nor do you need to stick with the first one you see that costs three euros. The important thing is to know what to look at before choosing and that is exactly what I am going to tell you below.

The first filter will always be the power

Let’s get down to business with the first filter that we are going to use when choosing a charger: charging power. This is not much of a mystery, since it is the energy it is capable of delivering and is measured in watts (you will see it reflected with a ‘W’). To know which one is ideal for us, the first thing is to look at the data sheet or specifications of our device.

For example, let’s look at the POCO X8 Pro. If we look, we will see how this device has a maximum fast charge of 100 W, so, if we want to make the most of it, we should look for a charger that delivers this power. Be careful with this, since it is possible that our device also has wireless charging, in which case we will see two values ​​in your specifications.

Small aside to answer a very recurring question: is fast charging harmful? Historically, this has been said repeatedly because This type of load causes more heat to be generated and this is one of the worst things there is for the degradation of a battery. However, there are already experiments that show that, although there is more degradation, The impact is much less than believed.

Now, what happens if my charger has 100 W of power and I plug it into a mobile phone with 45 W fast charging? Short and to the point answer: nothing. The charger can have a lot of power, but it will always deliver to your devices the necessary. Imagine this power as a water faucet: it can pour a huge spout, but it can also be regulated so that a trickle of water falls. Let’s look at this more closely.

Charging protocols are more important than it seems

As we say, although a charger has very high power, it does not mean that it will deliver it to your devices. There is ua kind of negotiation between the charger and your mobile to determine how much power to deliver or to regulate it at certain times during charging (for example, before reaching the charging limit you have set). This is known as the loading protocol.

There is a universal charging protocol called USB Power Delivery (or PD) that, yes or yes, your charger must have. Chargers without this standard are already somewhat outdated, so you may find them at ridiculous prices. Now, although this standard is the universal one, there are many others. And that’s where we might find a “problem.”

In addition to PD, we already have other standards such as Programmable Power Supply (or PPS), an extension of USB Power Delivery, but there are also others that are specific to certain manufacturers. For example, brands like OPPO have VOOC, just as Samsung has Super Fast Charging or Huawei has SuperCharge. The important thing here is that you keep the idea that, if your mobile phone has one of these protocols in its specifications, the ideal is that, to make the most of its fast charging, so should your charger.

What is GaN?

If you start browsing chargers in stores like Amazon, it is very likely that you will find models that, in their description, indicate that they have something called GaN. What does this mean? It’s very easy to explain: while the vast majority of chargers use silicon (surely it sounds familiar to you with how fashionable they are). carbon-silicon batteries), GaN chargers use galli nitrideeither.

In short, this material is better and more efficient than silicon. This implies that they have a better efficiency when charging and generate less heatsomething that, as we said above, is very good. Additionally, by dissipating temperature better, GaN chargers are more compact, which is also great. Is it mandatory for your new charger to have this material? No, but if you bring it, all the better.

Don’t lose sight of certifications, the cable and the ports

You already know the essentials for choosing a charger, but three more notes. The first thing would be to check that the charger is certified, especially with the most relevant certifications. It should have the CE seal yes or yeswhich means that it complies with European safety regulations. In addition to this, you may also have others from certain entities such as TÜV.

There is no point in buying the perfect charger for your mobile if you do not accompany it with the correct cablesince these also have to be compatible with the power we need. It is important to look at this, but also its compatibility with the different charging protocols, its materials (if it is braided, better) and its length.

And finally, there is the issue of charging ports. If you only plan to charge one device, as long as it has a port it will be enough for you. Now, as a personal recommendation, I wouldn’t lose sight of chargers with two or more portssince being able to charge several devices with a single charger is very convenient and saves you one less thing. Of course, be careful with the ports: not all of them will deliver the same power and it is possible that, when you plug in several devices at the same time, the power will be distributed.

Some interesting chargers

Ugreen Nexode Charger

This one from the Ugreen brand is quite versatile: it has two USB-C ports and one USB-A that can be great for charging a device like a smartwatch that has been around for a few years, for example. Maximum 65W fast chargingit is a GaN charger and is compatible with a good bunch of charging protocols. Costs 22.99 euros.

Belkin BoostCharge Charger

This one from Belkin is cheaper (costs 20.65 euros), but in exchange we lose the USB-A port and it is not GaN either. It has 60 W of power, but divided into two different ports, so each one reaches up to 30 W. This can be very good for you if you have an iPhone and are looking for a compact charger.

Baseus 65W charger

We have an option very similar to the first with this Baseus charger. By using GaN it is not too big either and has both two USB-C ports and one USB-A port. Delivery too a maximum of 65 W power and the truth is that its price is not too high: it costs 27.99 euros

Xiaomi 120W charger

If your phone uses Xiaomi’s HyperCharge charging protocol, then I would go directly to the official one from the Chinese manufacturer. It delivers up to 120 W, it is not too big and it has a point in its favor that not many chargers have: includes cable. Right now it’s coming out 24.95 euros.

Anker Nano II

To finish, we have this one from Anker, one of the most popular brands. This has two USB-C ports, as well as a USB-A port. In addition, it has a maximum power of 65 W, has GaN technology and is quite compact. It’s one of those that you would take everywhere and it only costs 21.19 euros.

Some of the links in this article are affiliated and may provide a benefit to Xataka. In case of non-availability, offers may vary.

Images | Onur Binay, Vince PicipoUgreen, Belkin, Baseus, Xiaomi

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