Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 could charge faster than its predecessor, but not fast enough

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 is expected to land on August 11, and yet there’s still a lot that we’re not sure about yet, but one thing that we are now fairly confident of is the phone’s charging speed.

As spotted by MySmartPrice, China’s 3C certification agency has listed a model number (SM-F7110) that’s been associated with the phone as supporting both a 15W and a 25W charger.

It’s not clear which if either of those will ship with the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 (after all, the Samsung Galaxy S21 range doesn’t ship with a charger), but that almost confirms that the Z Flip 3 supports 25W charging anyway.

• Check out all the best foldable phones
• We're also expecting the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 on August 11
• These are the best Samsung phones

We’d still take this with a slight pinch of salt, but this listing is for an official Chinese certification that phones receive before launching in the country, so the included data should be accurate. Plus, with the Samsung Galaxy S21 range supporting 25W charging we’d think it’s likely that the Galaxy Z Flip 3 would too.

That said, this would be an upgrade on the 15W charging offered by the original Samsung Galaxy Z Flip and the Z Flip 5G, and it’s also at odds with an earlier leak pointing to 15W charging, so there’s still a chance you’ll be stuck with slower speeds.

Reserve your new handset at Samsung.com
If you're in the US and you want to be the first to get your hands on the new Galaxy phone, reservations are already open. It's not an obligation to buy it, but it gives you the option if you wanted to be first in line and offers trade-in credit and other extras too.

- Head to Samsung.com to reserve your phone

Analysis: 25W is a start, but it’s still too slow

While moving from 15W to 25W might sound promising, the fact is that’s still very slow compared to what some phones offer. The OnePlus 9 for example supports 65W charging, while the Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra goes all the way up to 120W, and Xiaomi might launch a 200W phone next year.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 is sure to be an expensive phone, likely topping most conventional flagships for price, so a faster charging battery would be appreciated. Though in fairness Samsung is expected to sacrifice some tech to keep the cost lower than the likes of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3.

Still though, we’ve reached the point where 25W can almost be considered slow, with even mid-range phones often hitting at least 30W, and the relatively affordable OnePlus Nord 2 managing 65W.

There are potential downsides to fast charging, as it can potentially wear a battery out faster, but Xiaomi claims that its 200W charging tech doesn’t have this issue, so with all its money Samsung should also be able to solve this problem.

• It's official: there won't be a Samsung Galaxy Note 21

Via GSMArena