If you pick up an Android smartphone today, odds are it’s running on top of a chipset from Qualcomm. The company’s popular Snapdragon processor lineup has been used on many Android smartphones and tablets for years now, and for good reason. The chips are reliable and perform well, along with bringing compatibility with certain exclusive features. One of those is Qualcomm Quick Charge, one of, if not the most popular charging standard available today. Now, that standard is getting an upgrade.
Today Qualcomm has announced its latest charging standard, Qualcomm Quick Charge 4.0. This updated take on fast charging promises even faster speeds than before, but also with better control of heat. Qualcomm promises up to 20% faster charging speeds all while charging at temperatures that are 5° C cooler.
In testing the standard on a reference device, Qualcomm says that it achieved speeds fast enough to promise a “5 for 5.” That’s to say users can plug their phones in for 5 minutes to get 5 hours worth of power. For longer charging sessions, Quick Charge 4.0 is capable of charging up to 50% capacity in just 15 minutes. What’s the catch? Those numbers are based on a device with a 2,750 mAh battery, so your results will vary if you have a larger battery.
All of that is great, but what I found especially interesting is that Qualcomm is claiming that Quick Charge 4.0 is USB-C and USB Power Delivery compliant, making Quick Charge 4.0 a standard.
Last but not least, Qualcomm also announced a new chipset that is capable of using this new charging standard ─ the Snapdragon 835. This new chipset uses a 10nm process and was manufactured by Samsung. That means the 835 offers an increase in performance of up to 27%, increase in area efficiency up to 35%, and up to 40% less power consumption compared to the company’s previous top-tier processor.
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