54
Do fast-charging phones still harm battery health? I tested them to find out
(www.androidauthority.com)
TLDR = no answer is given in the article.
this post was submitted on 16 Mar 2025
54 points (100.0% liked)
Android
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Android 'journalism' has been dead for years now. Nothing but engagement-bait, inconsequential articles like this, and "sneak peaks" into unannounced features that may never see the light of day (remember when Mishaal Rahman revealed that Google was working on making Pixel phones work as a dash cam video recorder? never saw the light of day).
Yeah and they didnβt perform the same tests on any iPhone model.
Lol, nice.
Not that it matters, really, as it's all about battery chemistry, and there's no such thing as a free lunch.
Apple may do something differently than Android manufacturers, but they all have the same choices - tweak the voltage/current profile, manage temp, limit recharge bounce when a phone sits on the charger.
Actual answer: fast charging will always do more damage than slower charging. It's all tradeoffs, and I will trade my battery longevity for fast charging when I need it. When I have time, slower charging is fine.
Oh, thanks. Downvoted then.
Honestly. I wouldn't have to worry about my battery's health if I could easily swap it out.
laughs in fairphone
Edit : seriously though, it's great. I avoid it if possible but I have no qualms charging it with my steam deck charger, which is very beefy, if the need arises
Laughs just as hard in HMD Fusion.
I also ocassionally charge it with laptops usb-c charger if it is only thing handy. No problems so far.
Wow I had a look and I thought they were much more expensive. Might buy one of these when I need to upgrade my fairphone 4.
The software support is very limited compared to your Fairphone. 3 years is all you get with it.
Ok, now this looks impressive, since they publish the API and CAD files for you to build your own add ons.
I can't think of add-ons I'd want - I'm more for smaller phones today, so the bulk doesn't really appeal to me. But I'm eager to see what people create (may already be some stuff posted on 3D printing sites, I haven't looked). Maybe an add-on battery that's the size of the back but really thin?
Edit: LOVE that it's a plastic phone. Please, more plastic phones, they're lighter and tougher.
If the steam deck charger has a voltage output option that matches your phone (5V) then there is no issue. Current is set by the load in this case since the power convertor in the charger is a tension (voltage) generator, not a current generator. So the phone won't get too much current
It shouldn't be too long now before the EU implements its regulation that requires phone batteries to be "easily replaceable with simple, easy to access tools", right?
That's going to be monumental for the lifespan of these devices, especially as phones get software support for longer and longer these days.
Simply having a pull tab like most phones or that electrical release like Apple does is enough to satisfy the EU regulation. The batteries need to be easily replaceable without special tools by repair shops (first and third party, certified or not).
Not entirely true. Batteries are still made up of rare and polluting materials. And mining is not exactly ethical either
Edit: I feel my comment doesn't give enough credit to the one above. We really should have replaceable batteries and devices that can be repaired easily. It's just not a reason to not take care of the current battery if we can and to a certain extend
Your phone would also be much bigger and more expensive. That's not to say that swappable batteries shouldn't exist but keep in mind there as always trade offs.
Sure. Hence why the fair phone is bigger.
The article only tests whether the batteries get hot. High electrical loads, both charge and discharge can also degrade batteries directly.
I've been setting limits with ACCA for years on my Pixel 4A because its battery is difficult to replace. I didn't expect to keep it for five years, but there isn't a new phone I would like better.
My standard limit is 60% charge and 500mA charge rate. Sometimes I increase the limit to 80% or the charge rate to 1000mA for convenience. I rarely allow 100% or the full 3000mA charge rate, and it's set to pause charging in response to temperature.
Damn that app needs root access. Great idea though
I insist on having root on principle; if I don't, the device isn't really mine.
In a practical sense though, ACCA is probably my biggest use case for it. I could work around most everything else.
I agree with the idea of properly owning your device, but its pretty rare I need root access and it's not all that hard for me to enable it if I truly needed it. Turns out graphene has an option built in to limit charging to 80% and I use slow chargers already so I actually don't need it here either.
There are pretty solid security reasons to keep it locked down. It's an attack vector that allows easily superceding the otherwise highest permissions on your device.
It makes my phone just as secure or insecure as my PC. I'm good with that.
If I was at higher risk of being directly targeted for attacks, I'd probably rethink that.