JUMP TO Section Chevron icon It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options.- How we tested chargers for the Galaxy S21 phones
- Which chargers we tested
- Which charger you should buy for the Galaxy S21 phones
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- Samsung uses a charging standard called "PPS" for the Galaxy S21 series that most other chargers don't use.
- Samsung's 25W USB-C Fast Charging Wall Charger is the only recommended charger for the Galaxy S21 series so far.
Samsung 25W USB-C Fast Charging Wall Charger Shop at Best Buy External link Arrow An arrow icon, indicating this redirects the user." Shop at Samsung External link Arrow An arrow icon, indicating this redirects the user."Samsung has followed Apple's lead by not including a charger with its latest smartphones, the Galaxy S21 series.
That leaves you to use a charger you already own, whether it's from a previous phone or a third-party charger you bought yourself.
Keeping in mind that Samsung's Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21 Plus, and Galaxy S21 Ultra have a peak charging speed of 25W, we tested a variety of chargers — including Samsung's own 25W charger and some third-party chargers from reputable accessory makers — that claim at least 25W charging speed or more.
How we tested chargers for the Galaxy S21 phones
To test the charging speeds for the Galaxy S21 series, we used the standard Galaxy S21 as our test unit.
Before plugging in a charger, we drained the Galaxy S21 to the point that it no longer turns on. Once drained, we plugged in a charger and kept the phone off to prevent as many variables as possible. At the moment we plugged the Galaxy S21 into the charger, we started a timer for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes had passed, we unplugged the phone, which showed us the battery charge percentage for a 15-minute charge, and recorded it. We then plugged the charger back into the Galaxy S21, and set another timer for 15 minutes, and repeated the process to record the result of 30 minutes of charging.
Which chargers we tested
So far, the chargers we tested include Samsung's 25W USB-C Fast Charging Wall Charger, Belkin's Boost Charge 30W USB-C PD GaN Wall Charger, Anker's PowerPort III Mini 30W, Moshi's 18W Qubit, and RavPower's 30W 2-Port PD Fast Wall Charger. Moshi's 18W Qubit is the exception to our 25W-or-more criteria, as it was the only charger the company had available at the time of testing. We're still waiting on Aukey's Minima 30W PD USB-C Wall Charger and RavPower's 30W 2-Port PD Fast Wall Charger for testing.
Further testing on certain additional chargers may prove frivolous, as Samsung uses an uncommon charging standard called Programmable Power Supply (PPS) that few companies and accessory makers incorporate into their chargers. As a result, we found that third-party chargers that don't support PPS technology charge the Galaxy S21 phones more slowly than Samsung's own charger, regardless of how much wattage they can output. We even tried an 87W Apple laptop charger that doesn't feature PPS, which still led to slower charging speeds than we'd normally expect.
Which charger you should buy for the Galaxy S21 phones
With the fact that so few chargers come with PPS technology, there's only one charger you should buy for Samsung's Galaxy S21 phones, at least if you value the fastest charging speed possible for the Galaxy S21 series — Samsung's own 25W USB-C Fast Charging Wall Charger.
Here were the results of our testing. Note that these are the results using the standard Galaxy S21. The battery charge percentages are likely to be different for the Galaxy S21 Plus and Galaxy S21 Ultra, which have larger batteries. Still, our recommendations and results are unchanged, regardless of which Galaxy S21 model you own:
| Charger type | Charging time |
| Samsung Adaptive Fast Charger (15W) | 15 mins - 10% / 30 mins - 22% |
| Belkin Boost Charge 30W USB-C PD GaN Wall Charger | 15 mins - 18% / 30 mins - 38% |
| Anker PowerPort III Mini 30W | 15 mins - 19% / 30 mins - 38% |
| RavPower 30W 2-Port PD Fast Wall Charger | 15 mins - 19% / 30 mins - 38% |
| Moshi Qubit 18W | 15 mins - 25% / 30 mins - 47% |
| Samsung 25W Super Fast Wall Charger | 15 mins - 29% / 30 mins - 51% |
Other third-party chargers will work fine, but you won't get the fastest charging speed, no matter the wattage they're rated for. Nevertheless, Samsung's 25W charger is a good option that's similarly priced to other chargers here, especially when there's a deal. We also recommend the option that includes the charging cable, which is the option we link to throughout.
Shop at Best Buy Shop at Samsung Antonio Villas-Boas Senior Tech Reporter Antonio is a senior tech reporter for Insider's Reviews team, where he helps lead coverage, reviews, and guides of smartphones, tablets, accessories, wearables, smart home products, as well as audio devices from Apple, Google, Samsung, OnePlus, and other major tech companies. Before joining Business Insider, Antonio was a consumer-electronics analyst at PCMag. He graduated from Colgate University in 2009 with a bachelor's degree in history. You can contact Antonio with tips and cool tech via email at: avillasboas@businessinsider.com Learn more about how our team of experts tests and reviews products at Insider here. Learn more about how we test tech and electronics. Read more Read lessncG1vNJzZmivp6x7o8HSoqWeq6Oeu7S1w56pZ5ufonyowcidnKxnpJqwqXvSmqSsrZ6ceqity5qvsmWjZ35ursSsq2abmJa%2FqLHR