Fast Charging vs Normal Charging – Which Is Better For Your Battery?

Most smartphones at this day and age have fast charging capabilities which was not the case around 5 years ago. Qualcomm was the first to invent the concept of fast charging and named it Quick Charge.

People were used to charging their phones normally and didn’t know about fast charging but now normal charging is considered as Slow Charging.

Fast charging is definitely not a normal case so does it affect your battery?

Yes, fast charging does affect your battery and I will show you how it does that and discuss other important facts about Fast charging vs Normal Charging or Slow Charging.

Difference Between Fast Charging and Normal Charging

Every smartphone requires a specific amount of Voltage from the charger to charge the battery. A Normal Charger supplies a constant amount of Voltage that allows a constant flow of electric current and charges your phone at a normal rate. This is called Normal or Slow Charging.

If a charger supplies more than the specific amount of Voltage then it will produce more electric current than normal and this will charge your phone quicker than before. Your phone will charge to a certain level say 50% to 80% very quickly then it will charge slowly. This is called Fast Charging or Quick Charging or Turbo Charging.

Let me explain this with an example.

Let’s assume that your normal charger supplies 4 Volts of Voltage to charge your phone normally. Now, a fast charger will supply around 5-6 Volts which increases the flow of current and charges your phone much rapidly.

In simple terms, fast charging provides more current to the battery than what is required normally to charge your phone faster. Whereas normal or slow charging provides an adequate amount of current required to charge your phone normally.

Another thing to note here is that fast charging doesn’t charge your phone quickly to 100%.

Instead, fast charging does it up to a certain level like 50% or 80% (depends on phone) and then it charges the phone normally or slowly for the amount of charge remaining to get to 100%.

Some smartphones have quick charging up to 50% while others may have quick charging for 60% or 70% or even 80%.

For Example – Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Pro Max charges up to 50% in just 30 minutes and the next 50% charge takes around 1 to 1.5 hours.

When the charging cycle reaches a later stage then the Voltage supplied by the charger reduces and becomes constant. This means the amount of current passing through the battery is less than before and at a constant level.

This leads to slower charging for the rest of the charging cycle. This is very necessary to prevent damage to the battery and prolong the battery life. If it was charged quickly for the entire 100% charge then your battery wouldn’t last for more than a year.

So, we can say Fast Charging transforms into Normal Charging during the later stage of the charging cycle.

Does Fast Charging Work For Every Phone?

No, Fast Charging doesn’t work for every phone. In order for fast charging to work your phone has to support Fast Charging and your Charger has to be a Fast Charger. Also, you will need a Fast Charging Cable which comes with the charger.

If you use a Fast Charger with a Normal phone that doesn’t have fast charging capabilities then your phone won’t charge faster. It will charge at the same rate.

If you use a normal charger with a phone that has fast charging capabilities then also your phone will charge normally.

For fast charging, you need a Smartphone with Fast Charging capability and a Fast Charger with a Fast Charging Cable.

Does Fast Charging Damage Batteries?

Yes, Fast charging damages batteries and reduces the battery life but the process is slow so it doesn’t come to our notice at once.

Fast charging produces more heat which increases the temperature of the battery. As the temperature increases, the battery life reduces. Also, the temperature slowly damages your battery and decreases the battery capacity as well as battery life.

Smartphones nowadays have certain special mechanisms to reduce the temperature and protect the battery when it gets too hot. This mechanism is explained below.

When the temperature reaches a critical point then the smartphone sends a signal to the fast charger which then reduces the voltage level. As the voltage drops, the heat produced becomes less and there is a drop in temperature. The battery then reaches normal temperature.

Even with safety mechanisms in place, heat is generated during fast charging session and there is some amount of damage to the battery.

There are other things that reduce battery life. They are:

(a) Charging your phone after the battery discharges completely( 0% charge ). This reduces the battery life.

(b) Charging your phone frequently. This reduces the number of charge-discharge cycles and decreases battery life.

(c) If your battery gets too old and then battery life is reduced and charging capacity also decreases.

You must make sure that you don’t do the above things because smartphones nowadays have non-removable batteries and it will be very difficult to replace the battery.

On the contrary, Over-Charging your phone doesn’t damage the battery or reduce battery life.

Advantages Of Fast or Quick Charging

There are three main Pros of fast charging. They are:

Saves Time As Phones Charge Quicker

There is a saying that Time and Tide wait for none. If you can save time using fast charging then you can use those extra hours to focus on more important things in life and achieve your goals quicker.

The current smartphones have larger batteries with very high battery capacity. With normal charging, it will take around 3-5 hours to fully charge them but with fast charging, you can do that in less than 3 hours.

Improved Hardware and Software

Smartphones with fast charging capabilities have upgraded hardware and software which has certain mechanisms in place to reduce the battery temperature during quick charging.

When your phone reaches a critically hot temperature then the voltage level is reduced which reduces the heat produced and brings back the battery temperature to normal levels.

This reduces the damage to battery by preventing overheating and swelling of the battery. It also prevents any potential damage to the internal components of the phone.

Extends Smartphone Usage

You can use your smartphone for longer if your battery charges quickly.

Since current smartphone batteries have very high capacity hence charging it normally would take a lot of time and you can’t do something important on your phone.

You can use your phone while it is charging but I highly oppose it because it discharges your phone while it is charging and causes damage to the battery.

With quick charging, you can now charge your phone to around 50-60% in less than 45 minutes and you can finish off your important tasks without worrying about the time spent on charging.

Also, if your phone discharges quickly then you know that you can charge it back quickly with fast charging. So, you don’t need to use your phone while it’s charging and it will help you prevent any further damage to the battery.

Disadvantages of Fast Charging

There are three Cons of Fast charging. They are:

Your Phone Battery Gets Damaged Slowly

Fast charging increases temperature of the battery by producing more heat and causes damage to the battery.

Even though there are certain hardware and software mechanisms to control the temperature but your phone will get heated up during fast charging session and cause some damage to the battery.

The damage adds up slowly and the charging capacity as well as battery life decreases.

Battery Life Decreases

Smartphones use Lithium-ion batteries that have a certain number of charge-discharge cycles(300-500) before it becomes useless.

With fast charging, you know that you can charge your phone quickly so you keep on using your phone heavily(discharging) and then charge it again.

This frequent charging and discharging reduces the number of charge-discharge cycles of the battery and decreases battery life.

You Cannot Charge Your Phone With Other Chargers

Smartphones that support fast charging come with their own brand of Fast Charger. You cannot charge your phone with other fast chargers or normal charges.

If you damage your charger then you’ll have to buy a new one instead of using some other phone charger.

Also, not every smartphone has a smart charging capability which is a big disadvantage.

Smartphones With Fast Charging Are Pricey

You won’t find fast charging in most mid-end phones and you’ll definitely not find it in low budget phones. Smartphones with quicker Turbo charging or fast charging capability generally cost a lot more and fall in the higher-end phones category.

Advantages of Normal or Slow Charging

There are three Pros of Normal charging. They are:

Battery Lasts Longer

Unlike Fast charging, Normal charging provides the right amount of Voltage and doesn’t produce excess heat. As little heat is produced the temperature of the battery remains manageable and the battery life isn’t affected. This prolongs the life of the battery.

In Fast charging the excess heat produced increases temperature of the battery and reduces battery life. So, a battery with Normal Charging will last longer than a battery with Fast Charging.

Sensible Usage Of Smartphone

With normal charging you know that it will take a long time for the battery to fully charge so you use your phone sensibly and abstain yourself from heavy usage.

This keeps the charging-discharging cycles in check and prolongs the life of your battery.

Frequent charging reduces the number of charge-discharge cycles and the battery life so the lesser you charge the longer your battery will live.

Affordable

Smartphones with normal charging cost way less than fast charging phones. This makes them an affordable option.

Disadvantages Of Normal Charging

There are two main cons of Normal Charging. They are:

Charging Takes A Long Time

Smartphone batteries takes a long time to charge with normal charging. If your battery has high capacity then it will take even longer to charge your battery.

This means you will have to wait for your phone to charge before using it for important tasks.

You can use your phone while it is charging but it is not good for the battery because the rate of discharging is greater than the rate of normal charging.

This means your phone will discharge quicker than it charges and reduces the number of charge-discharge cycles. This further decreases the battery life of your smartphone battery.

You Cannot Put Your Phone To Heavy Usage

Smartphones with normal charging takes longer to charge so you can’t put your phone to heavy use because this will discharge your battery very quickly and you have to charge this again.

If you continue this charging and discharging process then your battery life will decrease very quickly.

How To Disable Fast Charging

If you prefer normal charging over fast charging then you can disable the fast charging option in your smartphone. Follow the steps below to disable fast charging in your phone.

Step 1 – Go To Settings

Step 2 – Go To Battery Usage section. Sometimes it is under Others section.

Step 3 – You will find a Fast charging or Quick Charge option under Charging section.

Step 4 – Turn Off Fast charging or Quick charge option and this will disable fast charging.

I am sharing a video below that shows you how to disable fast charging in Samsung Galaxy S10.

Fast Charging vs Normal Charging – Which Is Better?

Both Fast Charging and Normal Charging have their own advantages and disadvantages.

With Fast Charging you can quickly charge your phone to a certain percentage in 40 minutes or less. This saves you a lot of time which you can use for other important tasks.

Also, Fast charging gives you the luxury to use your phone heavily without worrying about our phone getting discharged quickly. This is great for gaming or running heavy apps which you normally don’t do with normal charging phones.

Even though fast charging reduces battery life the process is slow and you won’t notice it to be honest.

Normal Charging is good for you if you have to use your phone or a long duration and you don’t have the option to charge your phone in that time. Basically, Normal charging is ideal for traveling.

Phones with Fast Charging have the option to disable the fast charging which will automatically enable Normal Charging.

This makes Fast Charging a much better option than Normal Charging and I recommend my readers to go for a smartphone with fast charging capability.