What Wattage Charger Does Your Phone Need?
20W, 30W, 45W or 65W? What the numbers mean, and how to pick a charger without overpaying or undercharging.
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What the numbers mean
Watts describe how much power a charger can deliver. A higher number is a ceiling, not a promise: your phone draws only what it is designed to take, so a 65W charger will not force more power into a phone that peaks at 25W. It just will not be the bottleneck.
A practical guide
- 20W — full fast charging for most iPhones and many Android phones. The sensible default.
- 25–30W — suits Android phones that support faster charging, and small tablets.
- 45W — larger phones, tablets and phones with high peak charging rates.
- 65W — one charger for a phone, tablet and laptop. Ideal if you travel with a single plug.
All of them are in the chargers category.
Why GaN chargers are smaller
Gallium nitride internals run cooler and more efficiently than traditional silicon, so a GaN charger fits far more power into a smaller body. At 45W and above the size difference is obvious, and it is the reason a 65W plug can now be smaller than an old 18W one.
Multi-port chargers and shared power
A dual or three-port charger splits its total output between the devices plugged in. A 30W dual-port plug charging two phones is not giving each of them 30W. If you want full speed on two devices at once, buy more total wattage than the sum you need, and check how the charger divides power between ports.
Do not forget the cable
A fast charger needs a cable that can negotiate Power Delivery. Pair a 65W charger with an old USB-A cable and you will get slow charging with no explanation. See our guide to USB-C and Lightning cables.
Is a higher wattage charger safe?
Yes, with a reputable charger. USB-C Power Delivery negotiates the voltage with the device before power flows, so the phone requests what it can accept. What matters is buying a charger with proper protection circuitry rather than the cheapest plug available.
Questions
No. The phone requests the power it can accept, and the charger supplies only that.
Usually the cable. Check you are using a USB-C to USB-C cable rated for fast charging, and that the phone is not hot.
Most phones no longer include one, so a 20W USB-C plug is the usual first accessory to buy.
Shop the range. Everything mentioned here is in our full accessories range, with GBP pricing and compatibility listed on every product page. Questions about your model? Email or call us.