5 ms·

This is very cool, I might actually get one to charge my laptop. That being said... I can't be the only person who consciously avoids fast-charging my phone.

This is very cool, I might actually get one to charge my laptop. That being said... I can't be the only person who consciously avoids fast-charging my phone. My whole apartment is full of wireless charging pads intentionally plugged into weak chargers (wireless charging avoids putting wear on the USB port). 60 watts can't possibly be healthy for a battery small enough to fit into a phone.

Marsymars 1y ago
How do you manage that with magsafe/qi 2 chargers if you want to benefit from the greater efficiency and magnetic alignment? They’re all USB-C, and you can’t trivially buy USB-C chargers that are good for only 5W.
- runjake 1y ago
  We have a bunch that are USB-A to micro-USB to the charger? If you want to use the newer chargers, I’d think you’d want cooling and airflow. At some point, I want to build a MagSafe stand with a low RPM silent fan on it.
  - Marsymars 1y ago
    Well I want the newer chargers because they have better efficiency, but I still want them fanless and limited to 5W, which is why I ask.
- ryukoposting 1y ago
  My phone doesn't support magnetic alignment, so I'm not really concerned with that. While I can't speak for other phones, my S24 has a setting that limits charging power to 10W, which is fine enough for me. I'd love a 5W limiter, though. The rest of the formula is a combination of Apple and Ikea. Stick to the name brand stuff, the horrors within the average 10-30W USB charger would make any electrical engineer cower in fear. I really like Ikea's cheaper Smahagel chargers, by the way. They have very good electrical separation, they're cheap, and only run at 5W. The way they're shaped makes it easier to cram a bunch of them into a power strip, which is nice. Can't speak for the USB-C Ikea chargers though.
LorenDB 1y ago
Meanwhile me with a 100 W charger for my OnePlus 13...
kstrauser 1y ago
My current thinking is that the phone shouldn’t negotiate a higher wattage than it wants. Hypothetically, you could bolt it to a 1000W charger, and if it only asks for 30W, that’s all it’ll get.
- gruez 1y ago
  The concern isn't that a 9000W charger will fry a phone expecting 30W, it's that charging at 30W subjects the phone/battery to more stress/wear than charging at 5W.
  - nenenejej 1y ago
    My device A55 has a fast charging yes/no option. I think that might help tame things?
  - Schnitz 1y ago
    What is the logic or science behind that claim? I’ve fast charged my iPhone 16 pro (heavy user) daily if not more often for a year using Apple chargers with the charge limit set to 80%. Remaining battery capacity is still 100%, which is something I’ve never had after a whole year. Fast charge doesn’t seem to hurt.
    - Eisenstein 1y ago
      The logic is that is causes the battery to get hotter.
    - rr808 1y ago
      > Fast charge doesn’t seem to hurt. For me a year is nothing though, my phone is on its 4th year, my daughter has my old iphone X.
      - Schnitz 1y ago
        Yes but if after 1 year I’m at 100% battery health then isn’t it reasonable to assume that what I’m doing isn’t significantly harming my battery and I can continue like this for several more years? On previous iPhones where I didn’t use the 80% charge limit battery health dropped mostly linearly over the 3-5 years that I had the phone.
amelius 1y ago
If it doesn't get hot you're good, I would say.
SomaticPirate 1y ago
I believe current battery technology is optimized for fast charging. You are incurring damage every time your battery goes below 20% or exceeds 80% (see current EV charging recommendations). Even LinusTechTips did a video that showed the length of charging doing more damage than fast charging. For the concern about thermal damage, most phones will throttle their charge if they become too warm. Personally, I feel my wireless charger in the car does the most damage. It generates more heat and holds the battery in a charging state for longer
- arvinsim 1y ago
  I agree. I started using wireless charging with my iPhone 15 Pro Max. After a year of use, I am already near the 80% max capacity. My previous phones never even got below 90% in their lifetime.
  - jwr 1y ago
    Are you using high-power wireless charging? Does your phone heat up significantly? As a counterpoint, I've been using low-power wireless charging (5W adapters) with my phones for the last several years (three phones at least). The battery degradation was minimal, I was able to pass my phone to my kid after 3 years of use with near perfect battery. The key here is to prevent heat buildup.
    - arvinsim 1y ago
      Yes, I am using the high powered ones.
  - CraigJPerry 1y ago
    Same phone 89% on 535 cycle count, manufactured july 2023, first used september 2023. Almost exclusively wirelessly charged every time.
- red369 1y ago
  Thanks for bringing up that LinusTechsTips video - I'll try and track it down. I would not have expected that conclusion. I've already said in another comment on this thread that I'd expect the opposite!
MobiusHorizons 1y ago
Wireless charging may avoid putting wear on the USB port, but it typically does negatively impact battery health due to higher heat while charging. I suppose with a sufficiently low power charger this may not be a factor, though.
Spooky23 1y ago
You aren’t, but that concern is mostly superstition. I work at a place with a huge phone fleet. We have interns study our telemetry and records because I kids like phones and they find ways to save us money. We allow for low friction replacements of phones at 12 months — the average replacement is ~27. The most common issues are cracked screens and excessive scratching on iPhone 16 and a Samsung I cannot recall. Batteries are only an issue for field devices subject to excessive cold or heat. Unless you’re trying to keep the thing going 5 years, you’re likely seeing marginal benefits.
- jcgl 1y ago
  > Unless you’re trying to keep the thing going 5 years, you’re likely seeing marginal benefits. Not GP, but yes: that’s exactly what I’m trying to do. I think that people should generally expect 5+ years out of their devices. And in a world where user-replaceable batteries are decreasingly common, it makes increasing sense to change habits to preserve the built-in battery.
- xandrius 1y ago
  What's wrong with expecting 5 years? Am I insane to expect an electronic device to last as much as possible? And if I had to come up with s number, I'd say 10 years at least.
  - Spooky23 1y ago
    Nothing is wrong with it. I’m an enthusiast for the tech - I care about the cameras in particular and they are still moving forward between generations on the top platforms. At work, the optimal cash flow is rapid replacement. We buy high volume so as long as I don’t use a lot of labor, we make money on the subsidy. I buy a phone for $1, and net $250 in trade in 18-20 months. 5-10 years means you want a wall phone. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it’s a contrarian position and the options on the market don’t support it well as a result.
    - watersb 1y ago
      It might make sense to turn over phones every two years if you are a business that maintains lots of phones. As an individual, I generally keep my phones for at least five years. Why should I spend $300 per year instead of $150 when the lower cost option works for me? (I'm typing this on a 2020 iPhone SE; it runs the latest software. Although this year, that's not necessarily a good thing. Liquid Glass, Safari bugs.)
ezfe 1y ago
Wireless charging is undoing all the gains of low charging speed because it's so much higher temp.
- SirMaster 1y ago
  My phone doesn't get hot at all with wireless charging using a low watt power source though. Also I am using magsafe which due to the magnet alignment leads to a high efficiency transfer at least.

Marsymars 1y ago

How do you manage that with magsafe/qi 2 chargers if you want to benefit from the greater efficiency and magnetic alignment? They’re all USB-C, and you can’t trivially buy USB-C chargers that are good for only 5W.

runjake 1y ago
We have a bunch that are USB-A to micro-USB to the charger? If you want to use the newer chargers, I’d think you’d want cooling and airflow. At some point, I want to build a MagSafe stand with a low RPM silent fan on it.
- Marsymars 1y ago
  Well I want the newer chargers because they have better efficiency, but I still want them fanless and limited to 5W, which is why I ask.
ryukoposting 1y ago
My phone doesn't support magnetic alignment, so I'm not really concerned with that. While I can't speak for other phones, my S24 has a setting that limits charging power to 10W, which is fine enough for me. I'd love a 5W limiter, though. The rest of the formula is a combination of Apple and Ikea. Stick to the name brand stuff, the horrors within the average 10-30W USB charger would make any electrical engineer cower in fear. I really like Ikea's cheaper Smahagel chargers, by the way. They have very good electrical separation, they're cheap, and only run at 5W. The way they're shaped makes it easier to cram a bunch of them into a power strip, which is nice. Can't speak for the USB-C Ikea chargers though.

LorenDB 1y ago

Meanwhile me with a 100 W charger for my OnePlus 13...

kstrauser 1y ago

My current thinking is that the phone shouldn’t negotiate a higher wattage than it wants. Hypothetically, you could bolt it to a 1000W charger, and if it only asks for 30W, that’s all it’ll get.

gruez 1y ago
The concern isn't that a 9000W charger will fry a phone expecting 30W, it's that charging at 30W subjects the phone/battery to more stress/wear than charging at 5W.
- nenenejej 1y ago
  My device A55 has a fast charging yes/no option. I think that might help tame things?
- Schnitz 1y ago
  What is the logic or science behind that claim? I’ve fast charged my iPhone 16 pro (heavy user) daily if not more often for a year using Apple chargers with the charge limit set to 80%. Remaining battery capacity is still 100%, which is something I’ve never had after a whole year. Fast charge doesn’t seem to hurt.
  - Eisenstein 1y ago
    The logic is that is causes the battery to get hotter.
  - rr808 1y ago
    > Fast charge doesn’t seem to hurt. For me a year is nothing though, my phone is on its 4th year, my daughter has my old iphone X.
    - Schnitz 1y ago
      Yes but if after 1 year I’m at 100% battery health then isn’t it reasonable to assume that what I’m doing isn’t significantly harming my battery and I can continue like this for several more years? On previous iPhones where I didn’t use the 80% charge limit battery health dropped mostly linearly over the 3-5 years that I had the phone.

amelius 1y ago

If it doesn't get hot you're good, I would say.

SomaticPirate 1y ago

I believe current battery technology is optimized for fast charging. You are incurring damage every time your battery goes below 20% or exceeds 80% (see current EV charging recommendations). Even LinusTechTips did a video that showed the length of charging doing more damage than fast charging. For the concern about thermal damage, most phones will throttle their charge if they become too warm. Personally, I feel my wireless charger in the car does the most damage. It generates more heat and holds the battery in a charging state for longer

arvinsim 1y ago
I agree. I started using wireless charging with my iPhone 15 Pro Max. After a year of use, I am already near the 80% max capacity. My previous phones never even got below 90% in their lifetime.
- jwr 1y ago
  Are you using high-power wireless charging? Does your phone heat up significantly? As a counterpoint, I've been using low-power wireless charging (5W adapters) with my phones for the last several years (three phones at least). The battery degradation was minimal, I was able to pass my phone to my kid after 3 years of use with near perfect battery. The key here is to prevent heat buildup.
  - arvinsim 1y ago
    Yes, I am using the high powered ones.
- CraigJPerry 1y ago
  Same phone 89% on 535 cycle count, manufactured july 2023, first used september 2023. Almost exclusively wirelessly charged every time.
red369 1y ago
Thanks for bringing up that LinusTechsTips video - I'll try and track it down. I would not have expected that conclusion. I've already said in another comment on this thread that I'd expect the opposite!

MobiusHorizons 1y ago

Wireless charging may avoid putting wear on the USB port, but it typically does negatively impact battery health due to higher heat while charging. I suppose with a sufficiently low power charger this may not be a factor, though.

Spooky23 1y ago

You aren’t, but that concern is mostly superstition. I work at a place with a huge phone fleet. We have interns study our telemetry and records because I kids like phones and they find ways to save us money. We allow for low friction replacements of phones at 12 months — the average replacement is ~27. The most common issues are cracked screens and excessive scratching on iPhone 16 and a Samsung I cannot recall. Batteries are only an issue for field devices subject to excessive cold or heat. Unless you’re trying to keep the thing going 5 years, you’re likely seeing marginal benefits.

jcgl 1y ago
> Unless you’re trying to keep the thing going 5 years, you’re likely seeing marginal benefits. Not GP, but yes: that’s exactly what I’m trying to do. I think that people should generally expect 5+ years out of their devices. And in a world where user-replaceable batteries are decreasingly common, it makes increasing sense to change habits to preserve the built-in battery.
xandrius 1y ago
What's wrong with expecting 5 years? Am I insane to expect an electronic device to last as much as possible? And if I had to come up with s number, I'd say 10 years at least.
- Spooky23 1y ago
  Nothing is wrong with it. I’m an enthusiast for the tech - I care about the cameras in particular and they are still moving forward between generations on the top platforms. At work, the optimal cash flow is rapid replacement. We buy high volume so as long as I don’t use a lot of labor, we make money on the subsidy. I buy a phone for $1, and net $250 in trade in 18-20 months. 5-10 years means you want a wall phone. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it’s a contrarian position and the options on the market don’t support it well as a result.
  - watersb 1y ago
    It might make sense to turn over phones every two years if you are a business that maintains lots of phones. As an individual, I generally keep my phones for at least five years. Why should I spend $300 per year instead of $150 when the lower cost option works for me? (I'm typing this on a 2020 iPhone SE; it runs the latest software. Although this year, that's not necessarily a good thing. Liquid Glass, Safari bugs.)

ezfe 1y ago

Wireless charging is undoing all the gains of low charging speed because it's so much higher temp.

SirMaster 1y ago
My phone doesn't get hot at all with wireless charging using a low watt power source though. Also I am using magsafe which due to the magnet alignment leads to a high efficiency transfer at least.