Why You Need To Use The Right Charger For Your Android Phone

USB stands for Universal Serial Bus. It is the global standard that sets specifications and protocols for connectors, cables, and how they communicate with other devices. Everyone has used some form of a USB port at one time or another. For instance, the port on your laptop that lets you connect an external keyboard, mouse, or flash drive is a USB Type-A port. Then there are other types, such as micro USB and USB Type-C. While older Android phones use micro USB, most modern smartphones come with a USC-C connector. The main difference between these ports is the charging standards they follow.

Broadly speaking, Android smartphones support either of the two charging standards: USB PD and OEM-specific or proprietary. The Universal Serial Bus Power Delivery (USB PD) standard has been around for about 10 years and works with USB-C ports. It supports up to 240W of power, making it ideal for several devices such as laptops, tablets, power banks, and more (via USB.org). Further, the high power delivering capacity allows manufacturers to configure according to their needs with enough headroom.

On the other hand, several companies like Oppo and OnePlus have developed proprietary charging standards that utilize the Type-C port. While these standards support fast charging, they are device-specific. For example, the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra comes with Super Fast Charging, a standard compliant with USB standards.