[Comparison] Updated Charging Speeds Comparison (QC 2.0/3.0, 10W Qi, Standard) S7/S7E

[Pilz]

Method:
First I used my phone until the battery was below 15% in order to get a better picture of what the charging would look like over almost a full battery cycle. I did not start at the same battery percentage for each test because I did not find any benefit to doing so. I original did this for uniformity, but it did not make a difference after trying it using the more accurate equipment.
I then cleared my history in the Battery Monitor Pro Widget (BMW Pro) recording app which was used to log the battery [mV], battery temperature [F], time, and battery percentage changes. Once this was done I plugged in my USB Power Monitor, turned airplane mode on, removed the case, and let the phone charge. I started logging the data via my power monitor once the phone showed it was charging. From this point onward I let the phone charge without interrupting it until it reached 100%, then I let it charge for another 10-60 minutes to see if it was still drawing power from each charger. Once all of this was done, I exported my data collected from BMW Pro, emailed it to myself, and pasted it along with the USB Power Monitor data into an Excel spreadsheet. All of the data was then delimited to separate the clusters of data due to the way they were recorded, and subsequently graphed. The USB Power Monitor recorded data points every 0.36 seconds, while the BMW Pro took recordings every 5 seconds because I was having issues with the “real-time” recording option in the app working correctly.
All of the data was then graphed into the nice figures you will see below; each color reflects the same variable across all of the graphs to make reading them easier. I included a legend at the top of each set of graphs which should also help make it easier to read the data.

The most interesting part of this test is how cool the S7 Edge stays while charging, and the very marginal difference in overall charging time between QC 2.0/1.0. A 15-minute gap is marginal at best given the ‘big improvements’ Qualcomm claimed when launching the newer standards.

When conducting the wireless charging tests I think there is some error in the Samsung Fast Wireless charging data, so I plan on redoing it at some point. I already redid the Choetech one because it has a similar strangely long, but now it seems more in line with what I initially found before using the newer testing equipment.
I wanted to also quickly point out that both my HTC 10 and S7 Edge keep pulling current even after the phones show they are 100% charged. I’m not talking about a tiny amount; they both pulled ~1-5W+ after hitting 100% battery which is A LOT considering they are reporting to be fully charged. I verified this using 3 multimeters just to be sure. It appears as if Qualcomm, or the OEM’s are falsely reporting when the phone is actually charged, or there’s some other shady things going on here.
Another thing I wanted to mention is how the S7 Edge is so consistent in the way it charges the battery. It could be due to the lower rates Samsung uses (9V/1.67A max which is 15.03W) vs the HTC 10’s up to 18W that I’ve seen it pull. Just take a look at how the S7 Edge charges using QC 2.0 compared to the HTC 10 with lower temperatures, similar times, and a much more consistent overall charging curve.

If you look at the Tronsmart & Choetech QC2.0 tests, then you might notice the large difference between the two. The Tronsmart charger has a harder time holding onto the proper voltages, therefore it bounces around more from ~8.92V-9.03V (a 0.11V change) while the Choetech one ranges from 9.077V-9.092 which is a significantly smaller 0.015V range. The power control chip is responsible for controlling these voltages, and clearly the Choetech one has a better chip in it. This is especially important for external battery packs where efficiency really matters due to the limited amount of power they can store.

Equipment:
These tests were conducted using a series of different chargers. The same brand was used for both Quick Charge 2.0/3.0 tests to minimize experimental error; This trend remained the same was also done for the wireless charging tests
Wall Chargers:
Quick Charge 2.0: Tronsmart 18W charger 5V/2A, 9V/2A, 12V/1.5A
Quick Charge 3.0: Tronsmart 18W charger 3.6-6.5V/3A, 6.5-9V/2A, 9-12V/1.5A



USB inline Power Monitor:
XYZ Studio 0-24V, 0-3A USB Power Monitor
Tronsmart 5-12V USB multimeter (not used in this test, but was used in the older version)





Software/App(s):
Battery Monitor Widget Pro
Excel
Notepad++
Realterm (for the USB power monitor logging)


Legend




QC 2.0 Tronsmart S7


QC 2.0 Choetech


QC 1.0 Samsung



Choetech Fast Wireless Charger


Samsung Fast Wireless Charger



Samsung Wireless Charger



Normalized data Table




Full sized downloadable pictures of everything (data wise) you see above.

 

[sonhy]

very good stuff!
maybe you could also record the heat at the hottest spot of the phone during charging? I think qc3 has the same charge rate but its able to change voltage to reduce creating waste heat compared to qc2.0.

my main concern with the s7 is the battery life, i know it won't last me a full 18hr day so i really need a portable fast qc2 charger that is pocketable, so maybe 5000mah, but have not seen such a small qc charger tho

 

[CLARiiON]

Excellent post and well-made graphs. Thanks for your efforts.

 

[ISperfection]

well done. good info here.

 

[Pilz]

very good stuff!
maybe you could also record the heat at the hottest spot of the phone during charging? I think qc3 has the same charge rate but its able to change voltage to reduce creating waste heat compared to qc2.0.

my main concern with the s7 is the battery life, i know it won't last me a full 18hr day so i really need a portable fast qc2 charger that is pocketable, so maybe 5000mah, but have not seen such a small qc charger tho

I don't have a thermal camera, or way to do that otherwise I gladly would. I can recommend a small 6000mah external battery pack if you want; Ill do a quick write up too (if you need one). The Samsung charger stayed at 9V the whole time per my multimeter's reading it just dropped go .5A near the end.

Excellent post and well-made graphs. Thanks for your efforts.

well done. good info here.

Thank you, I will add in a standard wireless charger test (since my free Samsung one is enroute), and I can also get their fast charger too. I believe Samsung's fast wireless charger is only 7W so it would be slower than the Choetech one but it never hurts to see how fast it is.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using XDA Labs

 

[sonhy]

@Pilz yes pls let me know of a qc2.0 small portable charger I think a quick 30mins charge to add 50% battery life mid day will be the best ease-of-use solution for me.

with the heat measurement, I'll be happy with your commercial grade temperature sensor that the great designer created for you, your fingers or better yet, the inside of your wrist.
preferably touching the same area on the phone every time and grading something like 1-5 hot/comfort levels maybe? just suggesting, no pressure

 

[Pilz]

@Pilz yes pls let me know of a qc2.0 small portable charger I think a quick 30mins charge to add 50% battery life mid day will be the best ease-of-use solution for me.

with the heat measurement, I'll be happy with your commercial grade temperature sensor that the great designer created for you, your fingers or better yet, the inside of your wrist.
preferably touching the same area on the phone every time and grading something like 1-5 hot/comfort levels maybe? just suggesting, no pressure

I'll look into some methods to measure the heat easily while they're charging. I'm conducting the standard wireless charger test using my free Samsung wireless charger right now QC 2.0 chargers the fastest when you start at a very low battery percentage, so ideally you can achieve the results posted, but ambient temperature, starting % etc contribute to whether or not that's attainable. It's still a good estimate for 30 minutes of charging +/- 5% for other factors. The phone also chargers slower when the screen is in. The rate would go from 9V/1.67A to 9V/1.10A with the screen on. It was very consistent when I turned the screen on and off during the test.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using XDA Labs

 

[sonhy]

i actually won't care about heat issues while charging this time round, it'll be like my moto defy, i just run it under cold water after a fast hot charge, wont be using the s7 for many years so not worried about moisture build up.

i have ordered a magnet micro usb cable that says its rated for 2.4A charging so hopefully it'll allow easy qc2.0 charging, no need to plug in, it magnetically snaps on and off.

i think the best charge setup would be a 30mins quick charge (magnet) on the office desk than a 60mins wireless qi charge, carried in your pocket type situation.

 

[Pilz]

i actually won't care about heat issues while charging this time round, it'll be like my moto defy, i just run it under cold water after a fast hot charge, wont be using the s7 for many years so not worried about moisture build up.

i have ordered a magnet micro usb cable that says its rated for 2.4A charging so hopefully it'll allow easy qc2.0 charging, no need to plug in, it magnetically snaps on and off.

i think the best charge setup would be a 30mins quick charge (magnet) on the office desk than a 60mins wireless qi charge, carried in your pocket type situation.

Did you by chance order the Znaps? I backed them ages ago for both the Type-C and micro USB connectors. If I'm lucky I might eventually maybe sometime before I die receive them. I don't expect much from a kickstarter campaign that's been delayed this much. I'm finishing up the standard Qi/PMA charging test. It shouldn't matter the standard it's using but if it's important the Samsung wireless charger is actually PMA.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using XDA Labs

 

[Pilz]

OP Updated
-Standard wireless charging test added
-All figures updated to reflect the new test

 

[sonhy]

no, its from aliexpress, $10 or so, ive seen cheaper so I would say the poor Kickstarters had their designs stolen and made cheaper... im not sure, i just buy what's available and easy. just search magnet usb cable, you'll find heaps, the more exy ones claim 2.4A current rating.

 

[Pilz]

no, its from aliexpress, $10 or so, ive seen cheaper so I would say the poor Kickstarters had their designs stolen and made cheaper... im not sure, i just buy what's available and easy. just search magnet usb cable, you'll find heaps, the more exy ones claim 2.4A current rating.

Let me know how it works, I rarely use cables to charge my phone becusse I hate micro USB ports plus I'm used to the type C on Nexus.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using XDA Labs

 

[peachpuff]

Have you tried charging with 18w charger(not wireless) rather than the samsung one?

 

[Pilz]

Have you tried charging with 18w charger(not wireless) rather than the samsung one?

Yes it doesn't matter becuase the phone is only rated for 15.03W so it can't use more than that no matter the charging method. See screenshot below:

Sent from my Nexus 6P using XDA Labs

 

[sonhy]

@Pilz yeah sure, it should arrive in a couple of weeks. i hate plugging in as well, even with the usb type c, its reversible but finding the port isn't always easy, they should have made the port surface like a cone or funnel so your guided into the port more easily.

the use of the magnet is awesome, Sony's external side charging pins have been around for ages, its really the charging current and quality of the copper that im worried about.

 

[Pilz]

@Pilz yeah sure, it should arrive in a couple of weeks. i hate plugging in as well, even with the usb type c, its reversible but finding the port isn't always easy, they should have made the port surface like a cone or funnel so your guided into the port more easily.

the use of the magnet is awesome, Sony's external side charging pins have been around for ages, its really the charging current and quality of the copper that im worried about.

I just wish they had Type-C because its so much better especially after using it for a while now.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using XDA Labs

 

[xxaarraa]

I never knew that plugging in a micro USB cable was so difficult. It could be one of those things that once you try a better alternative (type c maybe?) makes you ask how you lived without it, but I don't see what the fuss is about just yet.

I've used wireless chargers for years (way back in the NExus 5 days even) including in the car. Any word on fast wireless charging and heat? I'm worried about it pumping a ton of heat on to the back of the phone especially for extended periods such as overnight.

 

[Pilz]

I never knew that plugging in a micro USB cable was so difficult. It could be one of those things that once you try a better alternative (type c maybe?) makes you ask how you lived without it, but I don't see what the fuss is about just yet.

I've used wireless chargers for years (way back in the NExus 5 days even) including in the car. Any word on fast wireless charging and heat? I'm worried about it pumping a ton of heat on to the back of the phone.

Micro USB is just more of a hassle becusse usually you need to angle it while inserting it into the phone. Type-C is nice becuase there no worrying about how I need to orient a cable when I'm half awake plugging my phone in. It's hard to understand why its nice until you use it everyday.

I haven't been able to measure the heat yet, but the phone is cooler using the 10W wireless fast charger than it is using QC 2.0. The phone isn't hot to the touch but it is warm using the fast wireless charger. I'll try to download a battery monitoring app that measures battery temp while it's charging. This method won't be as accurate as physically measuring it, but it should still give a good indication of the temperature.


Edit: I tested the temperature using GSAM battery montior via the fast wireless charger fro ~6% charge (28-34%) and the temperature rose 6 [F], the I let the phone cool and tested QC 2.0. The phone was charger for 6% to keep things cosnistent with a temperature change of 5[F]. I would need to find a way to more accurately measure these values because that quick test doesn't really mean anything at this point.
Sent from my Nexus 6P using XDA Labs

 

[ahrion]

Does the Adaptive Fast charging by Samsung with with QC 2.0 compatible devices or is it only exclusive to Samsung?

 

[Pilz]

Does the Adaptive Fast charging by Samsung with with QC 2.0 compatible devices or is it only exclusive to Samsung?

It's just a QC 2.0 charger from what I can tell. I have a battery pack that will charge using QC 2.0 so I can test it using my multimeter

Sent from my Nexus 6P using XDA Labs