Joe Maring / Android Authority
Regular Android Authority readers will know I’m a stickler for brilliant battery life backed up by proper fast charging. And by that, I don’t necessarily mean the faster the better, a battery needs to remain cool too. Instead, one of my top requirements for any phone that claims to charge quickly is that it has to be able to do so regardless of what plug you have at hand. It’s absolutely no good to anyone to boast 100W charging from a specific plug, only for your power banks to trickle in the juice when you need it most.
Fortunately, brands are improving support for the most common charging standards. However, there are holdouts, particularly among the larger names. Apple is stubbornly fixed to sub-25W charging, as are Samsung’s non-Ultra flagships, while Google’s Pixel 9 Pro XL requires a rare protocol to achieve its hardly groundbreaking 37W power level.
Do you use proprietary or universal charging? 113 votes A proprietary standard 35 % Universal Power Delivery 51 % I don't know what my phone supports 14 %
Poor might be harsh, but these brands are hardly the best, especially compared to the Xiaomi 15 Ultra, which does everything right in my testing. That’s right, previously the home of proprietary cables and plugs, Xiaomi’s latest handset charges quickly with virtually anything now. But you shouldn’t have to spend a small fortune for a phone to charge optimally, if you can even get your hands on it at all. That’s why I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how well the more affordable OnePlus 13 handles my charging gauntlet.
Robert Triggs / Android Authority
As a hoarder of cables and USB plugs, I have a wide range of different models dotted around my home. Some boast the latest USB PD PPS standards, some are the more classic USB PD 3.0, and I even still have a few USB-A ports floating around that sport various older quick charging standards. I’m always interested to see how phones perform with all these options and not just their optimal, often brand-specific plug. The OnePlus 13? It passes with flying colors.
OnePlus 13 Charging Test Power (W) Time to full (mins) OnePlus 13 Charging Test SuperVOOC
Power (W) 65
Time to full (mins) 35
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