Xiaomi 65W GaN charger Vs 55W GaN charger? What’s the difference?

In recent times, there has been so much emphasis on the charging capacity of a smartphone. In addition to the phone charging capacity, the charger rating plays a major role. Without a high-power charger, a phone can not meet its maximum charging capacity. These high-power chargers are getting more expensive, the more reason why manufacturers should exclude them from the box. The Xiaomi 65W GaN charger was released at the beginning of last year. Although this charger is not the official charger of the Xiaomi Mi 11, it seems to be desirable. 

The maximum charging capacity of the Xiaomi Mi 11 is 55W, thus the 65W GaN charger delivers effectively. The Xiaomi 55W GaN charger is the official charger of the Xiaomi Mi 11. However, because of the huge traffic that the Xiaomi 65W GaN charger is attracting, some users are confused. Why will most buyers prefer to buy the Xiaomi Mi 11 with the 65W GaN charger instead of the official 55W Gan charger? 

Some believe that the Xiaomi 65W GaN charger is better than its 55W counterpart. Thus, this article looks at the detailed comparison of these two chargers. You will be the final judge of which is a better charger.

Xiaomi 65W GaN charger Vs 55W GaN charger – External comparison

Different from the appearance of smartphones, the appearance of chargers are relatively “monotonous”. This means that there is not much room for changing the appearance. The first thing to consider in the design is that it has to serve the purpose. Thus, looking at chargers generally, the differences are only in colour, body shape, and size. 

Appearance

The Xiaomi 65W GaN charger has a minimalist design, with a PC flame-retardant white shell. It also has a very light gray silkscreen on the side with the words Xiaomi 65W. Its overall shape is slender or elongated with a simple design. 

The appearance of the Xiaomi 55W GaN charger uses the “Xiaomi family” charger design. It is also made of a PC flame-retardant white shell. However, the transition on the sides is rounded while the pins and USB-A interface are on the side. This is typical of many Xiaomi chargers. 

Interface 

The Xiaomi 65W charger uses a single USB-C interface and this port is on top of the charger. The USB-C interface is the current trend and the future trend. As a separately sold charger, the use of the C port follows the trend.

The 55W charger adopts a USB-A interface, which is on the side with an orange-red plastic core. The positive and negative shrapnel of the A-port female socket is widened, and there is a special contact for PD output.

Dimension & Weight

The Xiaomi 65W GaN charger uses gallium nitride power devices to break through the technical barriers. It condenses the charger volume to 30.8 x 30.8 x 56.3mm and the power density is as high as 1.21W/cm. The power density exceeds one cubic centimeter and more than one-watt output, marking the coming of a new era. The Xiaomi 65W weighs only 82g, which is even lighter than some 30W chargers.

For the 55W GaN charger, the dimension is 52.58×41.85×28.34mm. The entire charger volume does not exceed 62.36cm. In terms of power density, according to the PD power of 50W, the power density is about 0.8W/cm. If we consider Xiaomi’s private agreement of 55W, the power density is about 0.88W/cm. The 55W charger weighs about 101.9g, which is heavier than the 65W above.

Cable

The Xiaomi 65W GaN charger comes with a charging cable in the box. The cable is neatly bundled with rubber ties. The connector specification is USB-C to USB-C. With a length of 1 meter, the E-Marker information of the wire can be read through the POWER-Z KM001C tester. The wire supports 20V 5A current transmission capability. This is often referred to as 100W 5A E-marker wire. In terms of data transmission, it supports USB2.0 transmission rate.

The charging cable that comes with the Xiaomi 55W is a USB-A to USB-C cable. Both ends of the cable are treated with anti-bending, and the plastic shell of the wire end is frosted, which is convenient for users to plug and use. The positive and negative poles of the USB-A male connector are wide so as to accommodate large currents. It also comes with special shrapnel at the center. The colour is orange-red, which is somewhat unique. The cable length is about 1m and the diameter is 3.73mm.

Xiaomi 65W GaN charger Vs 55W GaN charger – Performance comparison

The fast charge protocol determines the range of devices that the charger will support. 

Fast charge agreement

The Xiaomi 65W GaN charger supports multiple fast-charging protocols such as Apple 2.4A, Samsung AFC, Huawei FCP, Qualcomm QC3.0, QC4+, and PD3.0. This basically meets the needs of most mobile phones on the market. This charger also has a complete PDO voltage file, which is 5V3A, 9V3A, 12V3A, 15V3A, 20V3.25A – five fixed voltage files. It also supports 5-11V3A / 5-20V3.2A – two PPS voltage files. Furthermore, this charger can support PPS. We can see that this charger supports a wide range of equipment. 

 

The Xiaomi 55W GaN charger supports Samsung 5V 2A, DCP, QC2.0, QC3.0, and PD3.0 protocols. It also supports four fixed voltage files – 5V 3A, 9V 3A, 15V 3A, 20V 2.5A. In addition, it also supports Xiaomi’s private 11V 5A fast charging gear.

 

Charging compatibility

Using Xiaomi’s 65W GaN charger to charge the 13-inch MacBook Pro, the power reaches about 57W, which is really awesome.

Looking at the compatibility test table, this charger can charge all devices normally. USB PD, ChargeTurbo, QC, FCP, AFC, APPLE2.4A devices can quickly charge. In addition to the Macbook Pro 13 57W, iPad Air3, and iPad Pro, the charging power of the two tablets hit 33W. Using this charger, the output power of the Xiaomi Mi 9 hit 26.92W. The Xiaomi Mi 9 supports a maximum of 27W fast charging. The charging power of three iPhone 11 models that support USB PD fast charging exceeds 20W. For the Xiaomi Mi 11, this charger delivers a charging power of about 48W. 

For the Xiaomi 55W GaN charger, the Xiaomi Mi 11 maximum output power is 44.98W. For the Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro, it outputs about 46W and the Black Shark 3S exceeds 43W. For laptops, it charges most devices at full capacity.

Conclusion

From the comparison above, it is clear which of the chargers is better. However, while the Xiaomi 65W GaN charger costs 149 yuan ($23), the 55W sells for 99 yuan ($15). Xiaomi did not include the 55W GaN charger in the Mi 11 box because it is better. It probably uses it because it outputs the phones maximum charging power and its cheaper,