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Fast charging is one of those lifesavers that we now take for granted on most modern flagships. Say you forgot to charge your phone before going to bed. No worries, a quick top-up as you get ready to tackle the day ahead, and you’re back to 100% in no time. In the case of the Realme GT5 240W, you can do a full charge in 10 minutes, and a 20% top-up in just 80 seconds, according to the manufacturer’s claims.
This is nothing new, as the Realme GT3 aka GT Neo5 launched the 240W SuperVOOC charging system in China earlier this year. Still, it’s hugely impressive to see the pace of development in the smartphone charging industry, and we always think back to the humble beginnings of fast charging smartphones from over a decade ago.
For our latest charging test, we use the 240W SuperVOOC charger and the thick double-sided USB-C cable that comes with the Realme GT5. The charging brick claims a 20V/12A maximum output (12A current), which translates to 240W peak charging speed. It’s also PD 3.0 compatible and offers 65W speed (20V/3.25A), which is good enough for most other phones, tablets, and even some low-power laptops.
It’s not the biggest charging brick, but it’s also not something you’ll want to carry around in your pockets. The whole solution comes in at a combined 210 grams – 170 grams for the charger and 40 grams for the cable.
We’re charging a 4,600 mAh dual-cell battery here that’s split between two 2,300 mAh cells. It features a nine-layer cooling system that ensures thermals don’t get out of hand and a total of 60 (sixty) layers of safety measures. We are also assured that the lightning-fast charging will not degrade the battery more than normal charging. In fact, Realme did the tests and the battery retained 80% of its initial capacity after 1,600 charge cycles, which is twice the 80% after 800 cycle commitment of most other phones out there.
But enough talk, let’s see how fast the Realme GT5 240W charges.
Well, Realme GT5 240W managed a full charge in exactly 12 minutes and 10 seconds. Not exactly the advertised 10 minutes, but still faster than any other smartphone not called Realme GT3.
The GT5 240W charging test breakdown – we were sitting at 8% after just 30 seconds on the charger, and it climbed to 15% at the 1-minute mark. From there, it was all gas, no brakes as the GT5 240W reached a 20% charge in 80 seconds, just as advertised. It then gradually progressed to 50% after 4 minutes and 80% at the 8-minute mark. Things slowed down a bit after that as we reached 93% at the 10-minute mark and then 97% after 11 minutes.
You can see how some of the fastest charging phones on the market fared in the following comparison.
We should also mention that ambient temperature plays a big factor in charging time. Our test was performed at a room temperature of 23˚C. The phone was kept on for the tests, and we did check on the screen to see how charging was progressing, which likely contributed to the 2-minute gap between Realme’s claimed numbers and our results.
Even more impressive is that the GT5 240W didn’t get excessively hot during the whole process though. Although the phone got a little warm, it was nothing out of the ordinary. The charger did get hot, but no different than any other regular charger we’ve tested.
We can confidently say that Realme and the rest of the BBK group are at the forefront of the fast charging game and pushing boundaries. Getting a full charge on your phone in less time than it takes to make a simple breakfast is still a surreal experience, and we can only hope that the 240W charging technology makes its way to more phones and markets sooner rather than later.
We also hope for a unified fast charging standard that will make cables and charging bricks interchangeable across devices and brands.