Samsung 45W SuperFast Travel Adapter review: The official plug for your S23

Picking out the best phone charging accessories isn’t an easy business these days, what with the various standards and protocols used for fast charging. But getting your head around the charging accessory industry is increasingly important as high-end smartphones start shipping without a charger in the box.

If you’re looking for an adapter to power up your latest Samsung Galaxy S23 smartphone, official accessories are the logical starting place. Boasting 45W of power, Samsung’s Super Fast Charging 2.0 Travel Adapter can charge any Galaxy S23 smartphone and more. It’s also suitable for tablets and even laptops too. Let’s dive into Android Authority’s Samsung 45W Charger review.

What you need to know about the Samsung 45W Charger (Travel Adapter)

• Samsung SuperFast Charging 2.0 (45W) Travel Adapter: $50 / £39 / €50 / Rs. 2,999

As an official accessory, Samsung’s 45W Charger comes in a selection of plug socket variants for use worldwide. It’s available in white and black options (in selected regions). The adapter does not feature an interchangeable plug type, so it is fixed for the region of purchase.

Samsung includes a one-meter USB-C to USB-C cable in the box, which is built to support up to 5A of current for fast charging. While the charger is a little larger than previous lower-power models, it’s eminently portable for a 45W product.

The most important feature of this particular adapter is support for the USB Power Delivery Programmable Power Supply (USB PD PPS) charging standard. This is a requirement to charge up the Samsung Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23, and other recent generation Galaxy handsets at their maximum speed. Chargers that don’t support USB PD PPS are capped at a slower 15W rate with Samsung’s latest phones.

We tested the charger’s various modes to verify compatibility. In addition to three PPS modes up to 21V, the adapter can also power USB Power Delivery 3.0 gadgets that require 5V, 9V, 15V, or 20V settings. In other words, this charger offers support for all USB Power Delivery gadgets that require up to 45W of power. This includes previous-generation Samsung smartphones and handsets from a wide range of other manufacturers.

What’s good?

The Samsung 45W Charger supports the latest USB Power Delivery PPS specification. Making it a great future-proof purchase for Samsung Galaxy phones, other smartphones, and even USB-C chargeable tablets and some laptops. To ensure compatibility, we charged up the Apple iPhone 14 Pro, Microsoft’s Surface X Pro tablet, and the HONOR MagicBook Pro laptop. The results are very good.

You’ll receive fast charging speeds with traditional USB Power Delivery gadgets, including the iPhone 14 series at up to 25W and hits a full 45W for the Galaxy S23 Ultra and other powerful electronics. This makes the Samsung 45W Charger suitable for smartphones and tablets, as well as some smaller laptops. However, 45W will take a couple of hours to fully charge large-capacity laptops, so you may prefer a 60W-100W charger.

Still, if you’re looking for a charger that can power a wide selection of the latest USB-C gadgets, Samsung’s 45W Charger is an excellent choice.

What’s not so good?

With the latest charging technology and fast speeds on board, the only quibble I have with Samsung’s 45W charger is the price. $50 is a little more than you’ll spend on a rival product with the same specifications. See the much cheaper Elecjet 45W USB PD PPS charger ($39 at Amazon), for example. Thankfully, Samsung regularly strikes money off its charger, putting it closer to the competition. Definitely keep an eye out for those discounts.

The lack of interchangeable regional plugs, which are increasingly common in rival products, is also a notable drawback. Especially for a plug branded as a “travel” adapter.

Similarly, close to $50 will often net you two USB ports from third-party products. The ability to charge two phones at once would make the most of the charger’s 45W capabilities. If you’re only planning to charge a vanilla Galaxy S smartphone, Samsung’s 25W Travel Adapter ($14 at Amazon) has you covered just as well for half the price. If you don’t need USB PD PPS support to charge your gadgets, a multi-charger will also offer better value for money.

Samsung 45W Charger review: Should I buy it?

If you are in the market for an official Samsung charger suitable for more than just smartphones, this is the product for you. The Samsung 45W Charger sports the latest charging standards, making it not only the best Samsung Galaxy S23 charger but also a great pick for its entire Galaxy handset portfolio, smartphones from other brands, tablets, and even laptops.

However, the 45W model is overkill for just charging up some smartphones. Samsung’s more affordable 25W model may be a better fit for base Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S22 customers. Likewise, those looking to charge high-power laptops or multiple devices simultaneously can find better multi-purpose USB-C wall chargers at similar prices or turn to Samsung’s own 65W tri-port model.

Top Samsung 45W Charger questions and answers