While there are a lot of illegitimate chargers out there that could be causing more harm to your device than good, luckily, there are a good bunch of tech-savvy people who can do the experimenting for us to find the best ones to use.
Despite being marketed as fast charging, one YouTuber discovered whether this feature actually depletes smartphone batteries over time, while another expert uncovered how the way you charge your device can 'silently' kill it.
Now, YouTuber Project Farm has conducted a massive test to determine whether there's a real difference between cheaper USB-C chargers and more expensive ones.
Testing the chargers on power outlet performance, heat/fire risk and whether they stayed securely in wall outlets, the Missouri YouTuber revealed which ones are best. It seems minor, but chargers that don't grip outlets securely can cause poor connections that generate heat and pose a fire hazard.
First up were the sub-50W chargers from Alonus, Feel Too Nice, Anker 20W, Anker Nano 47W, and Samsung 50W.
Testing the temperatures of the chargers while plugged in, Anker 20W came out on top, staying relatively cool at 121.8°F (49.889°C). The others underperformed and ran hot at temperatures ranging from 149°F (65°C) to 171°F (77.2°C).
Meanwhile, in the 65-99W range were Amlink, Anker 65W, Tech Neck, Belulin/Belcon 67W, Election 65W with a retractable cable, UGREEN 65W, and Anker Prime 67W.
Turns out, the UGREEN 65W performed the best with a temperature of 144.1°F (62.2°C), while the Tech Neck 65W registered the hottest at 167.8°F (75.4°C).
Onto the 100W+ range, Project Farm tested the Bovikus 100W, Top Padre 140W, Minix 165W, Anker 747 150W, Anker 200W, and UGrain 160W.
The results showed that the UGrain 160W was the hottest of all the chargers at 194°F (90°C), whilst the Anker 200W was the coolest at 108.5°F (42.5°C).
When taking both the energy at the outlet and the charger's efficiency into account, the Anker 20W came out best in the under 65W category at 91.7 percent. In the 65-99W range, the Anker Prime was the top performer at 92.6 percent. And in the upper tier, the Minix achieved at 93.3 percent.
In the wall-outlet grip test, the Anker 20W, the UGREEN 65W, and the Anker 150W took the top spots.
So, which charger came out on top overall?
Well, Project Farm found that among the under-65W chargers, the Anker 20W was considered the best value. In the 65-99W category, the UGREEN 65W came out victorious, and the Top Padre was best in the 100W+ class.
There's a lot of information to unravel there, but this is likely one of the most thorough charger experiments we've seen and hopefully gives you some insight into the best chargers on the market.