Charging your phone using a laptop may seem convenient, but sometimes sticking to the basics is more practical.

In this era of technological advancements, smartphones have become indispensable in our lives. Regularly charging your phone is essential to ensure its stable performance. However, many people are unsure whether to charge their phones via a laptop or use a dedicated charger. So, what made me lose interest in charging my phone with a laptop and opt for a separate charger instead?

Charging your phone has become more standardized than ever before.

In the past, phones usually came with their own chargers, including a charging brick and cable. The charging brick was typically designed to be compact, making it easy to carry around. The charging cable was often made of plastic or rubber, providing relatively high durability. However, these phones became inconvenient when users carried too many things and accidentally left them behind while traveling to distant locations.

Furthermore, chargers that came with phones in the past usually didn't include separate USB cables, so charging your phone with other chargers or directly plugging into a laptop was even more luxurious back then. If you forgot or damaged the charger, the only thing you could do was go buy another charger if you wanted to continue using your phone.

Today, with smartphones using micro USB ports in the past or the current Type-C ports, it's much better. You can not only use official chargers from manufacturers but also third-party chargers like Ugreen or Anker to charge your device effectively and in line with your design preferences.

Moreover, if needed, you can even use laptop chargers with USB-C ports that support the PD standard for phones that support similar standards. Not only that, but phones from China with their own fast charging technology can still be supported similarly with the most basic fast charging when plugged into a PD-compatible charger.

Or if you just forgot your charging adapter at home, you can plug directly into your laptop to charge and use both at the same time. It's so easy, and if this were 10 years ago, it would clearly be a dream that any tech enthusiast would love to experience once.

Just a session working on your computer, and afterward, you'll have a fully charged phone battery or close to full, which feels quite satisfying, doesn't it? But honestly, I'm not too keen on this, but I'm not saying it's bad either, and the reasons why, let's continue reading below.

Charging with a laptop is fine, but I prefer speed.

Charging via laptop is a simple and convenient solution, but it has some drawbacks. Firstly, charging via laptop is usually slower than using a fast charger. This is because laptop chargers typically have lower power output than fast chargers. Secondly, charging via laptop can decrease battery life. This is because the temperature of the laptop will increase when in use, and high temperatures can damage the battery.

Coming to the first reason, which is also the core reason I prefer charging with a dedicated charger, is to save energy for the laptop and speed up the charging time for phones that support fast charging. For smartphones with super-fast charging technology, this makes even more sense.

Phones with exclusive fast charging technology like , with power ratings of 150W or even up to 240W, only take about 20 to 45 minutes to charge with a dedicated charger. So, what reason would you have to want to charge via laptops with extremely low power ratings starting from 10W, which prolongs the time and becomes cumbersome with too many cables on the desk?

I don't find it too bothersome when it takes over 3 hours to charge with a laptop to fully charge my phone, but if I have the branded charger with me, I'll still choose to reduce clutter on the desk. It also helps me save a lot of time when I need to go out or have urgent tasks in a short time frame. But if you forget to bring the charger, charging via laptop is still worth experiencing.

Sometimes, if you're in a pinch, you should try charging via laptop.

I've listed quite a few reasons why charging via laptop may seem redundant, but for me, I might give it a try once. Honestly, if you forget many essentials at home and you only have dedicated chargers, the only thing you can do is connect the cable to your computer to charge your phone battery.

I'm currently using Omen 16, and there's no USB charger included inside the machine, only compatible with traditional round-head 200W chargers. If I happen to forget the charging adapter when going out, the only way to recharge my 15 Pro Max battery is by plugging directly into the laptop.

Conclusion

These are my thoughts on a matter that many of you are still pondering in your daily lives. Honestly, charging your phone via the USB port on your laptop isn't inherently bad, even if it's slow or may drain extra energy from the laptop. But when needed, it's still a good option for you.

However, it's worth noting that charging your phone via laptop can reduce charging efficiency and take longer than traditional methods. Especially on phones that support super-fast charging from 65W and above. Additionally, what you do will help you achieve maximum efficiency on both your laptop and phone.

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