Oppo's new tech can charge a phone in 20 minutes — and iPhone 12 should be worried

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Oppo’s 125W fast charging is something the iPhone 12 and Galaxy Note 20 can only dream of

Oppo Reno 10x Zoom
(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

Oppo has revealed a suite of fast chargers promising to fill up phone batteries at speeds Samsung, Apple, and even rapid-charging enthusiast OnePlus can only dream of. 

A couple of days ago the Chinese phone maker teased that 125W charging is set to be its next big step in finding ways to fill up phone batteries at blazing speeds. Now it has taken the covers off its 125W flash charge plug-in charger, which promises to fill up a 4,000 mAh battery in just 20 minutes.  

Comparatively, the OnePlus 8 Pro, with its WarpCharge 30T rapid charger, can fill up a 4,510 mAh battery pack to 70 percent in the same time frame. While it’s not a perfect comparison, Oppo’s new charging tech looks to have OnePlus beat. That's no small feat when OnePlus has long been considered to be a flagbearer for fast-charging technology. 

Interestingly, it was Oppo who developed the tech behind OnePlus’ Dash Charge system. So the two companies are entwined when it comes to rapid charging. 

Oppo showed off its prowess with rapid charging with the 65W SuperVOOC 2.0 fast charger last year, which can be found in the flagship Oppo Find X2 Pro. That charger could fill up a 4,000 mAh battery in half an hour. While the 125W charging tech doesn’t quite half the charging time, shaving off 10 minutes is still pretty impressive and will come in handy for people who need to quickly charge up a phone before leaving the house or office. 

There is a caveat here in that Oppo hasn’t revealed any phones that will come with the 125W charging tech. It’s likely that the rapid charging will be a standard feature of future Oppo phones. By comparison, the Galaxy Note 20 is said to offer charging speeds as high as 45W, though a 25W charger will likely come standard. And the iPhone 12 will reportedly support 20W charging, though a charger may not come in the box.

Aside from the 125W charger, Oppo also revealed its 65W AirWOOC wireless charger. Oppo claimed it will charge a 4,000mAh battery in half an hour. That’s set to beat the Warp Charge 30 wireless charger for the OnePlus 8 Pro, which in our testing charged the phone to 55 percent in just 30 minutes.  

Oppo 65W wireless charger

(Image credit: Oppo)

Not content with this pair of chargers, Oppo also revealed mini versions of its rapid-charging tech. The 110W mini flash charger is the size of a conventional 18W charger but has a lot more power. It can charge a 4,000 mAh battery in 20 minutes, but will likely have a slower initial charging speed than its 125W sibling.  

50W mini SuperVOOC Charger

(Image credit: Oppo)

And the 50W mini SuperVOOC Charger is a charger that’s the size of a business card holder, making it easy to pop in one’s pocket, but can charge a 4,000 mAh battery in a respectable 42 minutes. 

This quartet of chargers shows that Oppo is leading the charge for the next generation of rapid charging tech. And with phones now sporting 120Hz refresh rate displays, 5G connectivity, and faster CPUs, they’re increasingly power-hungry. As such, rapid charging will be a must-have for phone shoppers.

We just need to see Oppo roll this fast-charging tech into new phones and then see how the rest of the smartphone industry reacts. 

Roland Moore-Colyer
Roland Moore-Colyer

Roland Moore-Colyer a Managing Editor at Tom’s Guide with a focus on news, features and opinion articles. He often writes about gaming, phones, laptops and other bits of hardware; he’s also got an interest in cars. When not at his desk Roland can be found wandering around London, often with a look of curiosity on his face.