Alongside their latest mobile processor, the Snapdragon 835, Qualcomm have taken the wraps of the next iteration of their fast-charging standard, Quick Charge 4. The big news for the new standard is the claim of 5 hours of charge from just 5 minutes of charge*.
Before we jump into the other features let’s have a look at the fine print of that claim. That test was based on charging a 2,750mAh battery, the battery started on empty and charging the throttled when the device reached 40°C. It’s also unclear what temperature the device started at, what the ambient temperature was, however in the end even if the exact results are reached it charges fast.
Other advantages include up to 20 percent faster charging, or 30 percent more efficient while charging up to 5° C cooler that the previous Quick Charge 3.0 standard. Qualcomm is also promoting 50% charging in just 15 minutes, with all of the same caveats as before.
The new standard will work over USB C or microUSB, Qualcomm state that the new standard is compliant with the USB Power Delivery specifications, hopefully, it passes muster with the internet’s self-appointed guardians of USB.
The spec also contains battery saving algorithms designed to protect the longevity of your battery over the years by measuring voltage, current, and temperature accurately while protecting the battery, system, cables, and connectors.
We hope fasting charging is not taken as an excuse by OEMs to include smaller batteries in their devices, whilst fast charging is great it’s only useful when you have a charger and it seems many consumer have been conned into carrying a portable battery and thinking that;s a good idea!
Are you looking forward to new fast charging? Let us know below.
So basically USB-C and charging standards will become an even bigger fustercluck with manufacturers coming up with their own standards every other day, right in the face of Google saying “please stick to USB-C 3A/5V”.
So now we have QC (ver 2/3 and now 4), OPPO’s “dash charging”, Huawei have something of their own in the Mate 9…
What a complete and utter mess. And USB-C was supposed to make things easier…instead it has made things confusing, and the debacle with USB A-to-C cables carrying wrong resistors only makes further mockery of the whole standard.
Looks like some cool tech. As you say lets hope this is just a bonus and not a reason to reduce the battery size. The problem is actually getting one of these chargers is not that cheap and that is if you can even get one or if one is supplied with your phone. I know my Moto x Play will happily “Turbo Charge” but it did not come with the charger to allow it and it was at least at the time I got it impossible to get a genuine charger in Australia. As for carrying around batteries to… Read more »
I assume you meant to say “We hope fasting charging is [not] taken as an excuse by OEMs to include smaller batteries in their devices”?
I did, thanks for the heads up