Tag: Fast Charging

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Mobile Syrup

Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Canadian pricing, charging details leak

More details about Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 5 and 5 Pro have emerged ahead of next week’s Unpacked event, where the company is widely expected to launch the wearable alongside new foldable smartphones. Details include the Canadian pricing for the smartwatch, plus information about charging capabilities.

According to leaker ‘SnoopyTech‘ (@_snoopytech_ on Twitter), the Galaxy Watch 5 models will have the following prices in Canada (as an aside, it’s so nice to have leaked Canadian pricing so I don’t have to convert from USD to CAD for once):

  • Watch 5 40mm – $349
  • Watch 5 44mm – $389
  • Watch 5 Pro 45mm – $559

Next up, charging. SnoopyTech tweeted that the Galaxy Watch 5 would sport a 10W fast charger. As 9to5Google notes, previous Galaxy Watch models shipped with 5W chargers. The Galaxy Watch 5 will reportedly charge from zero to 45 percent in 30 minutes. The Galaxy Watch 4 took 110 minutes to charge fully.

Unfortunately, it’s hard to say how fast the watch would hit 100 percent. Most fast charging tech slows down the charging speed as the battery gets closer to full charge. Plus, with previous rumours indicating the Galaxy Watch 5 will sport a larger battery, it’s possible the Watch 5’s time to full charge will be the same as on the Watch 4.

Regardless, a faster charge is welcome, especially to get to half battery. It should help ease charging anxiety when your watch needs a top-up and you’ll be away from an outlet for a while.

Finally, it looks like the Galaxy Watch 5 will sport a USB-C charger instead of USB-A like before (the watch itself still connects wirelessly to a charging puck). That could open new charging possibilities, like charging the watch by plugging it into the USB-C port on your phone.

Anyway, we’ll likely learn more about the Watch 5 and its charging capabilities when Samsung unveils the smartwatch at Unpacked on August 10th. Learn more about what to expect from the event here.

Header image credit: SnoopyTech

Source: SnoopyTech, (2) Via: 9to5Google

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Mobile Syrup

Anker CEO says next-gen charging tech will offer 20-minute charge times

Charging accessory company Anker’s CEO says smartphones will soon charge from empty to full in as little as 20 minutes thanks to continued improvements in charging technology.

In an interview with The Verge’s Nilay Patel (which is well worth checking out if you’re interested in the company or charging tech), Anker CEO Steven Yang talked up the company’s Gallium Nitride (GaN) chargers. GaN chargers allow Anker to pack higher wattage charging into smaller charging bricks and it’s a trend Yang says will continue:

“We sold a lot of GaN chargers already in the past few years, and we launched the second generation — we call them GaN2 — earlier this year. GaN2 chargers can now do 65 watts in a very small cubic space as well. We’re actually about to launch GaN3 next year, which will bring the charger size even smaller and increase the power rating as well.”

Yang also discussed GaN in terms of charge times, noting that “wattage is not a customer-friendly approach.” Starting with the five-watt chargers available years ago, those would charge a phone in around three hours. Yang said 20W chargers cut that to about an hour and 20 minutes, while 40W and 60W chargers cut that to 30-40 minutes. Yang also mentioned some companies are trying 120W, which gets charge times under 20 minutes. And while Yang didn’t explicitly mention it, it’s also worth noting that as charging times have decreased, battery sizes have grown.

The interview with Yang revealed some other interesting tidbits as well. For one, Yang noted that Apple’s decision not to include chargers in the box boosted its sales:

“Previously, a lot of users didn’t buy a charger by itself. Per our survey, about 50 percent of those users still just go back to using their old chargers, because they have saved some over the years. But more and more people are starting to shop for individual chargers.”

Yang also seemed to agree with Apple’s argument about not including chargers to reduce e-waste — an argument that some have found hard to believe.

Finally, Yang also touched on Apple’s MFI certification system, Thunderbolt and the swatch of charging companies recently booted of Amazon for gaming the retailer’s review system. You can check out the full interview here.

Source: The Verge

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Mobile Syrup

Apple Watch Series 7 requires at least a 5W USB-C adapter for fast charging

Apple says its new Watch Series 7 can recharge up to 33 percent faster than the Series 6, going from zero to 80 percent in just 45 minutes.

That’s great and all, but you’ll need a few things to make it actually work.

The first (and the easiest) thing is a new USB-C charging cable for the Apple Watch. Thankfully, Apple includes one of these new cables in the box with the Watch Series 7. However, if you need another one, you can get one from the Apple Store for $39.

The other thing you’ll need is a USB-C power brick capable of putting out the right amount of power. Previously, it wasn’t clear how much power the Watch Series 7 needed, but a new support document from Apple (spotted by MacRumors) clears it up.

In short, you’ll need a USB-C power brick that supports at least 5W over USB Power Delivery (USB PD) or greater. Although Apple doesn’t include a power brick in the Watch Series 7 box, it likely won’t be too hard to come by something that puts out at least 5W — for example, the Pixel charger sitting on my desk can output 15W or 18W of power.

As a refresher for those who didn’t read our article about iPhone 13 charging, you can calculate the watt output of a charging bring by multiplying the volts and amps listed in the fine print on the charging brick (assuming the brick doesn’t just list the wattage outright).

It’s also worth noting that if you want to stick with just Apple accessories, the minimum option is Apple’s 18W USB-C charging brick. I couldn’t find the 18W one on the Apple Canada website, but the next step up (20W) is available for $25.

Along with the 18W and 20W options, Apple’s support page says that its 29W, 30W, 61W, 87W or 96W adapters will all fast-charge the Watch Series 7. The 5W requirement stands for third-party chargers.

All that said, there’s probably a decent chance you already have a 5W USB-C charging brick you can use for the new Apple Watch. If not, you can either fork out at least $25 for the Apple brick or grab one of the countless options on Amazon ranging between $10 and $35 in price.

Source: Apple Via: MacRumors

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Mobile Syrup

The iPhone 13 Pro Max supports up to 27W charging, with the right brick

The iPhone 13 Pro Max can reportedly charge faster than Apple’s other iPhone 13 models.

According to tests done by YouTube channel ChargerLAB and Twitter user ‘DuanRui‘ (@duanrui1205), the iPhone 13 Pro Max can handle up to 27 watt charging when using a compatible charging brick. The iPhone 13 Pro Max can go from zero to full in under 90 minutes when charging at that speed.

9to5Mac reports that the iPhone 12 capped out at around 22W charging speed. In other words, the iPhone 13 Pro Max offers a roughly 5W boost over the previous generation of iPhones. Unfortunately, that bonus is limited to the 13 Pro Max — DuanRui said the iPhone 13 Pro could only charge at 20W.

Of course, none of this matters if you still use the awful 5W brick Apple included with every iPhone up until it stopped putting chargers in the box with the iPhone 11 (the iPhone 11 Pro did get a fast charger in the box, but it’s an 18W brick). It also doesn’t matter if you use wireless charging or Apple’s fancy MagSafe for charging — both cap at 15W.

To really take advantage of the iPhone 13 Pro Max’s 27W charging, you’ll need a cable and a charging brick capable of putting out at least 27W of power. Apple does sell a 30W power brick on its website for $59, but before you go dropping the money, it may be worth checking if you have a 30W+ brick already.

You might already have a charging brick that works with the iPhone 13 Pro Max

The Verge notes that Apple includes a 30W charger with the new MacBook Air and a 61W charger with MacBook Pros, both of which can provide the 27W charging needed for the iPhone 13 Pro Max.

Alternatively, you can check your power bricks’ charging capabilities by reading the regulatory text printed on them. It should break down the output the brick can deliver, but if you don’t see it in watts, you can multiply the volts and amps to get the wattage. For example, the Pixel charging brick I had by my desk can output at 5V, 3A (15W) or 9V, 2A (18W), and thus would not charge the iPhone 13 Pro Max at full speed.

And of course, nothing can ever be that simple, so The Verge warns that some 30W chargers won’t charge the iPhone 13 Pro Max at 27W because the iPhone looks for 9V at 3A.

It’s a lot of extra complexity that Apple could have avoided if it opted for a better system than just removing the charger from the box. For example, if Apple provided a voucher with new iPhones that let people who actually needed a charger get one (and, specifically, the right one to charge their phone quickly), it could avoid customers having to watch YouTube videos and read tiny regulatory text on the bottom of a charger brick to figure out if they’ll get fast charging with the fancy new iPhone.

Source: ChargerLAB, DuanRui (Twitter) Via: The Verge