Not all Apple and Samsung battery chargers built the same

If you've bought a few Apple or Samsung phones in the past few years you may have noticed different chargers bundled with your phone.  But what exactly is the difference?

Here is a comparison of the various current Apple power adapters:

Model	Short Description	Connector	Power Output	Quick Charge	Packaged with
A1265	5W Small square iPhone charger (older model)	USB	DC 5V, 1 A	No	iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4
A1357	10W Block iPad charger	USB	DC 5.1V, 2.1 A	No	iPad, iPad 2, iPad mini
A1385	5W Small square iPhone charger (newer model)	USB	DC 1V, 1 A	No	iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPhone 5S, iPhone 6, iPhone 6S
A1401	12W High power large block iPad charger	USB	DC 5.2V, 2.4 A	No	iPad Air, iPad Air 2, iPad Pro

Here is a comparison of the various current Samsung power adapters:

Model	Short Description	Connector	Power Output	Quick Charge	Packaged with
ETA-U90	Blocky low end charger	USB	DC 5V, 0.7 A	No	Galaxy S2
ETA0U61	Cube low end charger	USB	DC 5V, 1.0 A	No	Galaxy S3
ETA0U80	Cube low end charger	USB	DC 5V, 1.0 A	No	Galaxy Note 2
ETA0U81	Cube low end charger	USB	DC 5V, 1.0 A	No	Galaxy Core
EP-TA10	Blocky charger	USB	DC 5.2V, 2.0 A	No	Galaxy Note 3, Galaxy Tab Pro 12.2 and Galaxy Note Pro 12.2
EP-TA12	Blocky charger	USB	DC 5V, 2.1 A	No	Galaxy S5, Tab 8.9, Tab 10.1
EP-TA20	High end blocky charger	USB	DC 5V, 2.0 A	Yes, 2.0	Galaxy S6, Galaxy S7

All this information can be found in small text on your power adapter. The output indicates the amount of power sent to the phone.  Both Apple and Samsung power adapters provide a USB connector to a microUSB cable.  Generally Samsung follows the Model number with "J" for Canada, US, Japan or "E" for Europe.

Using a lower output charger than the one included with your device may not work or charges your device very slowly.  For example the iPad Air charges very slowly with the A1385 and even drains faster than it charges if you're playing CPU/GPU intense games.

Using a higher output charger can charge your device faster such as charging an iPhone 6/6S using an iPad charger will charge from empty to full in about 2 hours.  However, be aware that using a charger that has a higher power output than the charger that
came with your phone may overheat your battery and may degrade the
life of the battery

Quick charging in newer devices make a big difference.  Charging the Galaxy S6 took 50% longer to charge with the EP-TA12 compared
to the bundled EP-TA20 with Quick Charge turned on.  So if you're looking for a phone that charges quickly make sure you get one that supports Quick Charge 2.0 or higher.