Do you remember how many times you had a situation where you needed to charge your phone outside the house and you didn't have the phone charger with you, and you wondered; Can any charger be used with your phone, whether it is a wired or wireless charger?
It is worth noting that Apple introduced all (iPhone 12) phones this year without a charger as well, but in the phone box you will find a (USB-C to Lightning) cable that works with USB-C power adapters and ports on your computer.
The short answer is yes, as the vast majority of phones now include a (USB-C) port for wired charging, and support the same wireless charging standards , but the long answer involves a bit more explanation.
The main element that all chargers have in common is the amount of (watts) or what is known as (charge capacity), which means the amount of energy that the charger can deliver to your phone's battery at once. Tablets and laptops usually have chargers with a higher wattage rating, as they contain larger batteries.
The charging speed of your phone also depends on the amount of watts provided by the charger and the maximum amount of watts your phone requires for charging, so the charger included in the phone box will always give you the best charging performance.
If your phone does not come with a charger, the charger is lost, or it is damaged, you should search for the shipping data for both the charger and the phone on the web so that you can buy a good replacement, for example: the new iPhone 12 can handle up to to 20 watts.
So if you buy a 20-watt charger from Apple, it will increase the speed of charging the new iPhone 12 by about four times faster than the old official charger with a capacity of only 5 watts. Of course, the old charger can charge the iPhone 12, but the problem you will face is the very slow charging rate.
This also applies to laptop ports, for example: the latest (MacBook Pro) devices can output 10 watts of power from (USB-C) ports, so you can use the (USB-C to Lightning) cable to charge your phone through PC port, which means you'll get twice the charging speed of a 5-watt charger, but only half as fast as a 20-watt charger, assuming your phone requires 20-watt charging.
If you want the fastest possible charge for your phone's battery, you need the charger that provides the same charging capacity as the phone requires, and this is most often found in the charger that comes with your phone as we mentioned earlier.
When it comes to fast charging, this is a technology that phone manufacturers adopt in different ways, and you usually won't find the same standards between brands. For example: (OnePlus 8T) supports 65W fast charging.
As with wired charging, to get the best results from fast charging, you need both the charger and the phone to support the same charging capacity, which means that you cannot connect (OnePlus 8T) to any charger and wait for it to charge the battery to 100% within 39 minutes, as OnePlus says, it is necessary to use a charger that offers the same capacity.
While wireless charging is a little different, charging capacity is also measured in watts, but wireless chargers are slower than wired versions. Most modern phones share that they support the wireless charging standard (Qi); So you can use any wireless charger with your phone as long as your phone and charger support the same standard.
As long as you use the right cable or wireless standard you can use any charger with your phone. Newer phones will regulate power draw to conserve the battery, so there is no risk of damage your phone using a charger with a slightly lower or higher charging capacity.
However, you should be wary of using cheap, unbranded chargers, or older chargers that have been around for years, as they may not adhere to the same safety standards as modern chargers.
Cheap chargers and cables can also be a threat to your life, researchers say: “Cheap, unbranded chargers can cause serious shocks or burns. Because they may not be as compliant with safety standards and quality testing as compared to their counterparts made by well-known brands.”
Accordingly, to protect yourself and extend the battery life of your device, be sure to use a new charger belonging to a phone manufacturing company, or from a well-known company that manufactures phone accessories, even if it is a little more expensive than others.
At this point any new charger will work with any new phone, but you won't get the fastest charging speeds, or the most efficient charging rate if you're not using a charger made by the same phone company. And when it comes to fast charging, you should use a charger designed specifically for your phone.
The same applies to wireless charging, so any charger can be used with any phone if they support the same wireless charging standard, but the charging speed can vary from one charger to another.
The only exception here is; It is in the new iPhone 12 phones that use the new (MagSafe) charging standard designed specifically for it, which relies on a strong magnetic connection to install the phone in the charging base, so it is not recommended to use the new (MagSafe) chargers with any phones other than the iPhone 12.
It is worth noting that Apple itself has warned against placing credit cards, hotel key cards, transportation cards, or passports between the iPhone and the MagSafe charger, as this may damage the magnetic strips or RFID chips in these items.
Also, the charger may leave circular marks on the outer cases that you use to protect the phone, in addition to leaving the same circular marks on the back of the phone itself if you do not use a case.
To learn about all the warnings that Apple provided to users regarding the phone and the new MagSafe charger, you can see the article: “Apple warns users about the MagSafe feature.. Here are the details.”
