Is Samsung Superfast Charge as quick as the competition?

Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy Note 10 series will feature a new Superfast Charge technology, according to the company’s website. Samsung’s fast charging technology remains been behind the competition as it’s based on older Qualcomm Quick Charge technology. But rumors suggest that Superfast Charge for the Galaxy Note 10 will clock in at a powerful 45 Watts.

Samsung’s Galaxy S10 5G, currently the company’s fastest charging flagship, supports 25W. Previous Samsung flagships, including the standard Galaxy S10 range, support just 15W charging. Clearly, the leap up to 45W is a huge change that should lead to substantially faster charge times for the Note 10. The question is, will it be as fast as its rivals?

Stay in the know: How fast charging really works

Samsung Superfast Charge vs the competition

First, it’s worth reiterating how much more power Superfast Charge offers compared to previous Samsung flagship implementations. There’s a 3x boost over Adaptive Fast Charge and a 6x boost compared with a standard USB port’s capabilities. Even compared to the 25W capabilities offered by some of its more recent phones, Superfast Charge utilizes 80% more power.

Compared to the competition, 45W flies past Quick Charge and USB Power Delivery options favored by manufacturers that don’t have proprietary solutions. 45W is also 50% more than Motorola’s TurboPower and OnePlus’ WarpCharge 30W offerings. There’s a reason Samsung has named this technology “Superfast Charge.”

If the rumors are true, Samsung will be sitting near the top of the field in between Huawei’s 40W SuperCharge 2.0 and Oppo’s monstrous 50W Super VOOC charging. Of course, this doesn’t mean that the Galaxy Note 10 will necessarily be one of the fastest charging smartphones. That depends on battery size and how long maximum charging power is used for.

A number of the fastest charging phones on the market at the moment combine a reasonable battery size under 4,000mAh with very fast charging technology. Furthermore, Oppo’s 50W Super VOOC seems to charge slower than Huawei’s 50W SuperCharge 2.0 in our review testing. There are plenty more variables than just charging power that determines battery charge times.

The Galaxy Note 10 might achieve full charge in around an hour

In terms of Note 10 charge times, it’s impossible to say accurately without testing the device ourselves. However, we can look at rival technologies and equivalent battery sizes to get a rough idea of how things might pan out.

The Galaxy Note 10 is rumored to sport a 4,500mAh battery, a tad larger than the Huawei P30 Pro’s 4,200mAh cell. That’s 7% larger battery but 12% more charging power. In theory, the Galaxy Note 10 will charge up as fast as or even faster than the P30 Pro, which we clocked in at 56 minutes. Empty to full in an hour or under is a reasonable target for a 45W charger.

There’s more to consider than just charging power

Super-fast charging technologies often come with their own caveats. OnePlus’ WarpCharge, for example, has only just recently included support for USB Power Delivery. Just because a phone charges quickly with one standard is no guarantee that it supports more universally adopted standards in the accessories market (quite the opposite, in fact). We will have to see if Samsung has sacrificed some compatibility to achieve 45W charging capabilities.

Alternatively, we may find that the Galaxy Note 10 sticks with Samsung’s latest 25W charging technology out of the box. This charger already ships with the Galaxy S10 5G, Galaxy A80, and A70, and provides decent support for third-party charging technologies. Instead, the 45W charger may be sold separately. Rumors point to a €50 price tag attached to the luxury of Superfast Charge. This makes it a much less tempting prospect given the Note 10’s already expensive price tag.

Fast charging is a feature that consumers care about almost as much as battery life itself. No one wants to wait around for their phone to charge. Samsung has been playing catch up with its latest 25W technology and a jump to 45W capabilities will see the company back competing with the best when it comes to battery technology. We just hope consumers won’t have to pay more for a feature that rivals are providing out of the box.

Read more: All the Galaxy Note 10 rumors you need to know