Before you hit the road, these are the car chargers your phone deserves

Whether you’re making an all-day road trip or just your normal half-hour commute, the car is the perfect place to top off your shiny, new Android phone. After all, your phone should be stationary in a car mount for Android Auto or stowed away, so you’re not tempted to use it while driving. Car chargers come in many styles and shapes, but with the advent of USB-C Power Delivery charging, we now have a widely used standard that can be used for charging a phone or even laptops off the same port. Here are the best car chargers to replenish your battery on the road.

Power Delivery makes the best car chargers better

USB-C Power Delivery is five kinds of awesome, with the best being that it can charge a wider variety of devices at a wider range of speeds. If you want to charge a laptop in your car — hey, it happens more often than you’d think — then you can go overboard with the MANINAM Metal Adaptive USB-C Car Charger and its 45W PD output, but if you’d rather stick with a more well-known brand, Anker’s got you covered with the PowerDrive Speed+ 2 with its 30W PD output.

If your phone has Qi charging, you should really consider grabbing a Qi car charger. Not having to plug and unplug every single time you get in the car is nice, especially during an afternoon of errands. There are other Qi charging mounts out there, but iOttie’s Easy One Touch Wireless 2 is available in three modes: a dash mount, a CD slot mount, or an AC vent mount, so you can grab the type that’s best for you. If you live in a warm locale, I definitely suggest the vent model so that your AC can help keep things cool in the summer since Qi charging tends to gather a little heat.

The iOttie is also one of the few car mounts that support EPP and is Made for Pixel, so we know it’ll work with the Pixel 5 and the Pixel 4 series.

Why cables matter even more in the car

You’ll notice that many of these chargers — especially the chargers that boast PPS support for Samsung phones — will have pockets of reviews claiming that they don’t work while most say that they do. What gives? Well, the problem isn’t with the charger itself: it lies with the cable!

See, cables are rated to support certain speeds and certain specs. For PPS, you need an e-marked cable that supports 5A charging, but most USB-C cables are only rated for 3A (60W) charging. This is further compounded by the fact that a cable sitting in a hot car every afternoon all summer can cause the cable to degrade over time, so you need to grab yourself the best USB-C cables you can. If you’re getting one of the PPS-rated car chargers, manufacturers usually ship a compatible cable in the box, but if they don’t, or you break it, look for a 100W Power Delivery cable.

Also, consider cable length: the longer a cable is, the more chance there is snagging on something or getting caught under a seat or around a shifter. So while I love long USB-C cables when traveling, I try to stick to 3ft cables or shorter in the car. That gives you wiggle room for letting passengers use the phone while you drive while keeping things relatively tidy.