Which one among these Chinese mid-end budget phones takes the lead when it comes to charging?

Friends, we’re in a battleground where smartphones are fighting to become the best under a certain budget category. Like a gladiator wins a match by killing the other, same is the case with these phones. In this environment, the manufacturers ensure that their own flagship has a considerable degree of concern, which enables it to complete with today’s smartphones. They tend to provide some great hardware and software for a stupendous price, such as fingerprint recognition, metal body, processor and so on. But, moving to our central topic, the entire phone market focuses on a small but phone defining technology termed as Fast Charge Technology.

Even though, the quick charge depends on the SoC support (whether it is Snapdragon with Quick Charge v2.0 and more or is MediaTek with PE Charge), the fact is that no one focuses on the charger and the numbers of volts and amperes. Still, most of the mid-end (1000 yuan) phones adapter have the same readings on them which are 5V, 1.5 or 2 A. So friends tell us how fast will be the charging, maybe hardly 90% in 2 to 3 h. But guess what? Recently this tradition has been broken by none other than 360 N4. This thousand yuan phone is equipped with a turbo-charged flash technology, a total of 5V, 9V, 12V third gear voltage regulator. And the combined result is amazing, charging up to 14.4W of power 12V1.2A, altogether. The manufacturers claim that the device can top up to 50% in only half an hour. Of course, everyone can see the parameters, but the actual gap between how much was not more than an intuitive feeling. So here we are for a charge comparison between the four mid-end and the most famous terminals. Our sole purpose is to let you guys know the difference between fast-charging technology and the ordinary charging technology (5V1.5A/ 5V2A) and the impact on users at the end.

The Contestants of the Charge Competition

Like previously said, we have selected some thousand yuan machines (mid-end phones) with emergency charging test by 15 minutes and a complete charge. We must enlight you that the whole process of charging time consumed two aspects: Charging power (normal or quick charge) and battery. So the phones in test are: Meizu Blue Charm Note 3 (4100mAh battery, charging power of 10W (5V2A), Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (4000mAh, 10W (5V2A), Huawei Honor 5C (3000mAh, 5W (5V1A) and at last is the debut of 360 N4 (3080mAh battery, with the highest 14.4W (5V2A \ 9V2A \ 12V1.2A). It should be noted that the top three phones don’t support Quick Charge while the last one supports quick charger, supported turbocharging technology. So let the competition began:

15 Minutes Emergency Charge Analysis

From the test above, we can observe that the best performance is given by 360 N4 (3080mAh) from 5% to 27%, a total of 22% (630mAh) in 15 minutes due to turbo-charged flash technology. In the case of Honor 5C with the same level of battery (3000 mAh), the charging rate was from 3% to 11%, a total of 8% (about 280mAh) in 15 minutes via the normal charger of 5V2A. See! The gap is quite obvious. Meanwhile, for Blue Charm Note 3 and Redmi Note 3, the result are nearly same with the same battery level ( 4000mAh) which are 12% and 11% (about 410mAh). But still no one can compete with 360 N4. So in this first 15 minutes test:

Winner: 360 N4 (Quick Charge)

Runner-ups: Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 and Meizu Blue Charm Note 3

Complete Charge Analysis

Finally, the full charge analysis. In this field, still the advantage goes to the fast charge technology. But we must first see the outcomes. Speaking of the phone with the least charging power and battery (3000 mAh) are the Honor 5C which charges from 3% to 100% with a long time of 3 hours 18 minutes and 15 seconds. Meanwhile, with the same battery 360 N4 tops up its battery from 2% to 100% in only 1 hour 29 minutes 15 seconds. Still the gap can be easily seen which is double the time period. Whereas, when with no Quick Charge support, Redmi Note 3 and Blue Charm Note 3 proved some marvelous results, thanks to the charging power of 5V2A . Although they had 1000 mAh more than the above said terminals but the whole charging process was completed half an hour faster as compared to Honor 5C. To be specific, Blue Charm Note 3 charged from 5% to 100% with a time of 2 hours 31 minutes 56 seconds, while Redmi Note 3 charged from 3% to 100% in 2 hours 38 minutes 13 seconds. Still both of them lagged with a whole hour when it comes to 360 N4. Therefore, in practical experience, whether it’s a 5V2A or a 5V1A charger while comparing the charging rate a huge gap exists between the fast charge and the normal charge. Still the winner is:

Winner: 360 N4 (Quick Charge)

Runner-ups: Meizu Blue Charm Note 3 then Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (Normal Charge)

Charging Curve Analysis

At first, we must understand the charging curve of Meizu Blue Charm Note 3. Here the whole process is incredibly stable. From 5% to 80% the charging interval is half an hour. Whereas, Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 took nearly two hours. After 80% Blue Charm Note 3 enters the trickle charge state where current and the voltage was maintained at only 4.7V 0.7A and the remaining 20% charge took 1 h, but Redmi Note 3 spend only a little time at the end, so Redmi was more reliable here.

Speaking of Redmi Note 3, the whole charging process was quite unstable from the first half an hour (about 3% -20%). There were some regular ups and downs in this time interval with some unexpected power cuts. This ends when the curve stabilizes between 5V1.7A to 10.8A (20% -80%). After 80%, like all the phone it enters the trickle charge state where the charging is still stable. But, throughout the whole process, heat evolved from time to time increasing the resistance. The overall result along with instability and heat dissipated reflects the poor power supply circuit of Redmi Note 3.

Heading to the loser of the previous results, Honor 5C although has a charging power and charging time lower than the others, but its stability is undeniable during the process with no high fever phenomenon. The temperature is nearly constant throughout the charging with a gradual decline in the current rate when it enters the trickle charge mode at the last 10% of charge left. So here (in terms of stability and heat lost) it’s not a loser anymore.

At last comes our protagonist, 360 N4 with turbo-charged flash technology. From 2% to 90% it took less than an hour, the entire power output has remained around 12V1.1A. Hmm… This is extraordinary fast, but a change is seen during the last 10% remains of the charge. At this moment, N4 has to spend nearly 30 minutes in order to complete that 10% as it moves to trickle charge state and the voltage decreases to 5V only. Here Xiaomi Today found a rare and interesting phenomenon. As 360 N4 states that it supports a fast charge of three grades 5V2A, 9V2A 12V1.2A with powers 10W, 18W, and 14.4W, respectively. We witness the graph sustains between 12V and 5V. But, wait a minute! Where is the voltage 9V? It didn’t exist in the graph. If 9V2A had been used then probably the speed of the charge would have been more rapid. Think about it! With 9V combined, the total charging time would have been nearly an hour only to top up the battery.

Winner: 360 N4 (Quick Charge)

Runner-ups: Honor 5C then Blue Charm Note 3

The Conclusion

A question remains that if the quick charge is that much fast and convenient that why didn’t China used this technology in mot of their smartphones? The reason for this is probably the cost which is in terms of hundreds of dollars. As a majority of Chinese phone are budget friendly and to be competitive, they don’t opt for the Quick charge in their terminals. This is somehow a drawback of Chinese phones (exceptional with high-end phones).

Attention: The internal data of table “103” is corrupted!

However from the results, Quick Charge is a way better than the normal charge. The current models in test are positioned as following:

360 N4 Meizu Blue Charm Note 3 Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 Huawei Honor 5C

We’ll be working for more comparisons, so for that stay tuned.