What Is Fast Charging?
If you haven't heard of the phrase 'fast charging,' it's essentially a feature that helps your phone's battery fill up much quicker than regular charging. It works by sending a higher amount of power to the battery for a short time, especially when the battery is low. Most modern phones and chargers are built to handle this safely so that you can get hours of battery life after just a few minutes of charging.
Some charging cables are designed to support fast charging, too. These cables can handle higher amounts of power and transfer it more efficiently to your phone. If you use a regular cable, your phone might charge more slowly even if your charger supports fast charging. That's why many brands advertise 'fast charge' cables; it's because they're made with thicker wires and better materials to help your device charge as quickly and safely as possible.
Why Some Tech Experts Say Fast Charging Can Be Dangerous
While there are many 'fast charging' cables out there that advertise they're safe for your device, not all of them are as safe as they may seem, and run the risk of overheating your battery, which is one of the most common ways you can harm it, according to tech experts.
Tech expert and content creator Marques Brownlee made a video all about fast charging for smartphones, both why it can be beneficial and why it can also be a risky game when used frequently.
"The goal here is to minimize any excess heat around that battery, which would damage it faster than normal," he explains in his YouTube video. "Now the thing is, generally, the more wattage, the more power you're pumping into this battery, the more heat it's going to generate. So it sounds like this extra fast charging is clearly bad for your phone. It's more heat generated, and it's bad degradation. But that's not something these companies aren't thinking about."