Summary
Most phones can charge from 0 to 80% in a matter of minutes, but only if you’re using a charger that can actually deliver the power in the first place. The USB port in your car is usually not that charger. It might deliver enough power to show a charging icon on your phone, but there’s barely any meaningful juice coming through. Sadly, it’s a problem most automakers haven’t bothered to fix, but all you need to get around it is a 10. The important part is the output. These things can push 30W, 45W, even 60W. And yes, some of these also support USB PD, PPS and Quick Charge, so you can expect more or less the same charging speeds you get out of your main charger.
This also applies to built-in wireless chargers in cars, by the way. Those pads are almost never Qi2, which is the latest standard on flagship phones like the Pixel 11. Most of them aren’t typically magnetic either, so your phone always bounces around as you drive. That can easily cause the wireless charging coils to misalign and generate unnecessary heat. So yes, if you prefer wireless charging, Qi2 charging car mount. They’re obviously more expensive, but you can expect to find one on Amazon for around $50.
No matter what type of charger you go for, make sure to use a USB cable that can handle the fast charging. If you keep using a cheap, spare cable for your car, you won’t get the advertised charging speeds.
Anker 521 Car Charger (32W)
Anker’s 521 Car Charger has a USB-C port and USB-A port which can deliver up to 32W of power across the two connections.
Your car’s USB ports are still useful for other things
No point in wasting it
There’s obviously a price for switching to a dedicated charger, which is that you can’t use your phone for wired Android Auto or Apple CarPlay. That’s usually the first thought that comes to mind when ditching the car’s USB port. The most obvious fix here is to switch to wireless Android Auto or Apple CarPlay.
You also don’t have to let your car’s USB ports go to waste. Those are still useful for all kinds of other things. You can, for instance, use it to power your TWS, smartwatch, or power car gadgets like an air purifier, dashcam, humidifier, or an aftermarket TPMS. Heck, you can even give your car a little glow-up with a US
And if you’re old school, you can use that USB port to connect a flash drive full of your favorite playlists. The main benefit here is that you’ll have uninterrupted music playback without draining your phone’s battery. So yes, there’s a lot you can use those USB ports for other than charging.