Gone are the days when slow charging was the norm. Just about 4 years back, mobile phone manufacturers have started charging speeds faster than 10 watts(5 volts, 2 amps). It all started with the Quick Charge 2.0. From Quick charge 2.0 onwards, they decided to increase the voltage, while keeping current constant. With older USB 2.0 cables, it wasn’t easy increasing the current as that would cause a lot of heat to be generated, thus slowing the charging down. With their new charging tech, the battery remains cool at peak charging, and thus helps increase the overall battery life. Then came QC3, QC4, QC4+ and now, QC3+. The latest change is now Quick Charge 3+.
Qualcomm Quick Charge 3+
Nowadays, batteries are getting larger and even more larger, and charging them quickly is the need of the hour. The Asus Rog Phone 2 currently features a 6000mAh or 6Ah battery. Charging such a phone using the Quick Charge 4 standard takes around 2 hours and an extra 5 to 10 minutes using the stock 18 watt charger that comes with the phone.
The phone could have been charged in say, less than an hour if it had the latest quick charge 3+ standard at 60W. Currently, the fastest phone, the Oppo Reno Ace charges a 4000mAh battery in less than half an hour, which is 28 minutes.
If a 65w phone can charge a 4000mAh battery in just half an hour, imagine what it could do to a 6000mAh on the Asus Rog Phone 2!
Supported Quick Charge 3+ Chipsets
The only drawback of this charging tech is that it’s only supported on the Snapdragon 765 and 765G. The only device which actually supports the new standard is the Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite Zoom. Surprisingly, this device supports both Quick Charge 3+ as well as Quick Charge 4+. This is the only device available that supports both charging standards. Hopefully, Qualcomm will add support for older and latest devices by the end of this year. However, Qualcomm didn’t specify any other devices to expect this new charging tech on, going forward.
How it works
Qualcomm made the new Quick Charge 3+ so that devices get the high speed charging, while staying affordable. The company claims that you could charge the device from dead to 50% in just 15 minutes. That’s about 35% faster than previous devices. They even promise that the phone will be 9° Centigrade cooler. That’s a great feat for Qualcomm. So, the way the get 60 watts is by using a voltage of 20v and a current of 5 amps.
The main goal of Quick charge 3+ was to use a cheaper option, thus a USB-A port at the charger and USB-C port at the phone. Mostly, those phones don’t get super fast charging, and Qualcomm is trying to do something about that. Compared to Quick Charge 4+, the 3+ uses a USB-A connector which is completely inexpensive, compared to the USB-C connectors used for Quick Charge 4+ but OEMs could still offer lower-cost peripherals and chargers, which could bring down the cost of the package as a whole.
My Take
The all new quick charge 3+ standard is the latest addition to Qualcomm’s charging line, and is a great one. The support for 60 watts charging is a must needed charging today as all of us want to charge our phones in under an hour, and what better charging tech to use other than this new standard? I can’t wait for it to be added to more devices that have already been released. It’s time we get faster charging speeds. Just recently, Vivo, a chinese company has shown us some crazy fast charging speeds. Their new charging tech charges the phone from 0 to 100% in just 13 minutes. Holy Molly! That’s insanely fast. You can check it out in the video below
Imagine having to charge your phone for just a few minutes instead of hours. Life could become easier, and you get another full day’s usage without having to recharge your device halfway through. You could also get more time to do other work rather than waiting hours for your device to charge.
So, are you excited for Qualcomm’s latest charging tech? Do let us know in the comments below.
