Everybody needs to charge their phone—some more often than others (ehem, most iPhone users). Starting with Quick Charge 1.0, Qualcomm hit the market with the first fast charging solution, which was able to charge up to 40 percent quicker than standard charging.
About a year later they rolled out Quick Charge 2.0, increasing the charge time up to 75 percent, and created a host of accessories as well, including wall adapters, car adapters, and the ol’ trusty power bank.
And now, a couple years later, we welcome the Quick Charge 3.0, the fastest, most efficient charging technology thus far.
Qualcomm claims that Quick Charge 3.0 can “refuel” devices up to four times faster than standard charging. It’s twice as fast as the original (Quick Charge 1.0), and 38 percent more efficient than its predecessor (Quick Charge 2.0).
What does this mean for you, the consumer? Well, it decreases the amount of time you need to spend “waiting” for your device to charge. So long are the nightly rituals of plugging everything in to ensure you’re properly charged up for the following day. Now, you’ll easily be able to charge up much quicker, maybe while you shower or get ready for work.
Quick Charge 3.0 utilizes Intelligent Negotiation for Optimum Voltage (INOV), an algorithm which allows your device to determine what power level to request at any point in time. Meaning if it only need 30 percent more juice, that’s all it will take. This enables an optimum power transfer, while maximizing efficiency. Pretty intuitive, if I do say so myself.
The chargers support wider voltage options, allowing a mobile device to dynamically adjust to the ideal voltage level supported by that specific device. You need not specify. And it offers a smaller range of voltages: 200mV increments, from 3.6V to 20V, allowing your device to target the optimal power level.
Although the technology has been improved, it’s still just as easy for OEMs to implement into their designs. It is fully compatible with Quick Charge 1.0 and Quick Charge 2.0 devices, and can be used with a variety of connectors, including USB Type-A, USB micro, USB Type-C, or proprietary connectors. In addition, all of those accessories that were rolled out with Quick Charge 2.0, will still be fully supported as well.
Qualcomm will begin integrating Quick Charge 3.0 into some of their newest Qualcomm Snapdragon processors, including the Snapdragon 820, 620, 618, 617, and 430. So you can fully expect that the new charging technology will be incorporated in next year’s smart devices.