Buzz
Currently, Xiaomi stands as one of the most successful companies in the mobile hardware sector. In the past year of 2022, the brand unveiled a phone with a 1-inch sensor and a meticulously crafted foldable design. Not stopping there, they recently unveiled another phone, garnering attention for its fast charging capability of 210W, capable of fully charging a 4,300 mAh battery in just 9 minutes.
Fast charging is indeed remarkable, but moderation is key.
According to Xiaomi's announcement, the 210W charger will come bundled with the phone, complete with a charging cable, included in the box. Users only need 9 minutes to charge from 0 to 100% for a 4,300 mAh battery. As of now, this is one of the fastest chargers in the market. With such speed, the Redmi Note 12 Explorer can reach 66% in just 5 minutes, while the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ takes 19 minutes to reach the same level.
The fast charging technology race is not new at this point. Leading phone manufacturers with Android operating systems have been providing fast charging for a while now. The peak was in 2021 when Xiaomi released the Redmi 11T Pro model with a 120W charger.
Naturally, Xiaomi's competitors refuse to lag behind and continuously release competitive products in terms of charging speed. One standout example is the launch of the Super VOOC 150W charging standard with its 10T model, capable of fully charging in just 19 minutes. That's why now, Xiaomi has also introduced a rapid charger of up to 210W, and until now, no tech giant has surpassed this record.
However, a question arises about the safety of Xiaomi's 210W fast charger and whether it affects phone battery life or not, and if consumers really need such rapid charging.
Users Demand Better Battery Life
Having fast charging on smartphones is indeed convenient and offers significant time savings for users compared to before. Nowadays, most smartphones on the market come with fast charging as a standard feature. Compared to previously spending about 2-3 hours to fully charge, now it only takes around 60-90 minutes on average to charge a phone fully.
It's undeniable that Xiaomi is a tech giant, but as of now, even the latest iPhone models only come with 20W fast charging, and even the newest Samsung models only have 45W fast charging. So, is it necessary to use a phone with such fast charging capabilities? Perhaps what users need more at this point is a smartphone with a larger battery capacity, increasing usage time before needing a recharge.
Some argue that there's rarely a need to charge a phone fully in just 9 minutes. Usually, when users need to charge their phones, they're willing to spend an additional 10 or 20 minutes to charge their beloved devices. That's the timeframe where smaller power chargers like 120W, 80W, or even 45 or 20W still provide enough juice for users in urgent need. Unless you're someone obsessed with perfection, obsessed with having your phone at 100% battery all the time, you really don't need a 210W charger.
A smartphone can easily last through a normal day of use, so whether it's fast charging or regular charging, it doesn't significantly impact daily life. If a phone only needs to be charged once, overnight while sleeping, then charging speed isn't an issue.For a phone used daily, whether it's fast charging or regular charging is sometimes not that important. During work hours, we can still charge our phones, which helps us stay focused on work. Moreover, many users have the habit of charging their phones overnight, so is it really necessary for a phone to charge so quickly?
In conclusion, smartphones nowadays charge quickly enough that consumers don't feel uncomfortable being separated from their phones for too long. What's more important is for manufacturers to research increasing phone battery capacity to extend usage time rather than trying to reduce charging time minute by minute.
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