Updates are a double-edged sword. On the one hand, they keep the device up to date, but on the other hand, they often contain all sorts of bugs and flaws that either disable the updated gadget or disrupt its operation in such a way that it becomes impossible to use it as before. Most often, despite the ostentatious stability, this happens with iOS, which is why users constantly scold Apple and its developers. However, no one is immune from this. Even Samsung, which I have recently praised a lot for the responsible approach to updating its branded smartphones.
Has the charging time increased? It happened not only for you
With the release of the One UI 2.1 update, which Samsung began distributing back in March, the owners of some of the Galaxy flagships are faced with an increase in the time it takes to charge their smartphones. Affected devices so far include the Galaxy S10 +, Galaxy Note 10+, and Galaxy S20 Ultra. In any case, this follows from the reviews left by the users themselves. According to them, the average charging time has increased by about 20-30%. That is, if earlier it took an hour on average to recharge the battery from 0 to 100%, now it takes at least 80 minutes.
Charging speed dropped
Bug or feature? This remains to be understood
It is not yet clear what it was – a bug or a deliberate slowdown by Samsung developers in the charging speed of branded smartphones of the brand. At first glance, what could be the reason for increasing the time spent on charging? Indeed, now all manufacturers, on the contrary, strive to reduce it as much as possible, minimizing it. So, it is logical to assume that Samsung developers, working remotely in conditions of forced isolation due to the danger of coronavirus infection, just screwed up somewhere. But it is not so.
In fact, a number of Samsung smartphones – at least those powered by Exynos processors – have had some charging problems for a long time. According to complaints from some Galaxy S20 owners, while charging, their devices start to get very hot. Heating reaches such limits that the smartphone is even difficult to hold in the hand. However, it is worth disconnecting it from the power supply, as the temperature returns to normal and does not rise to the same level, even in heavy games and when shooting 4K video at 60 fps.
Samsung fast charging not working
Something tells me that it's all about Exynos processors again
Given this fact, it can be assumed that the slowdown in charging was deliberate, because a decrease in the supported power can actually reduce the load on the battery and help get rid of overheating. Yes, this is a rather tangible downgrade, but here you have to choose between manufacturability and banal performance of the smartphone. After all, if the device continues to experience such thermal loads, quite soon it can lead to the fact that its battery will begin to degrade ahead of time, not to mention the accompanying damage that can be received by adjacent components.
If Samsung deliberately reduced the charging speed of its smartphones, then I am here completely and completely on its side. Still, it is much better to keep the device intact, preventing its damage, if possible, than to flaunt the supported charging power, which only brings harm. Another thing is that on devices with Snapdragon processors, such problems are not observed, which once again proves that Samsung branded chips, which it has been producing for several years, are absolutely uncompetitive and should simply leave the market.