Supports fast charging technology. What it is. Fast charging on Xiaomi

(Quick Charge), so users actively use this useful technology. QC allows you to quickly and efficiently charge your smartphone; in just an hour, the battery charge is 100% again. For our readers, we have prepared material that will help you learn everything about Quick Charge 3.0 and how it works.

Quick Charge

Qualcomm Technologies continues to introduce new innovations to the mobile device market. At one time, Quick Charge 1.0 technology clearly demonstrated that smartphones can charge 40% faster than with conventional charging.

A year later, QC 2.0 was introduced, allowing the device to be charged 75% faster. In addition, various accessories compatible with this technology were presented.

In 2015, Qualcomm Technologies continues to develop its industry. Quick Charge 3.0 charges even faster and more efficiently. By the end of 2017, Xiaomi has already released more than 10 smartphone models that support QC 3.0

With Quick Charge technology, a higher level of current is supplied to the battery, thus charging as quickly as possible.

For successful charging, the device and the charger itself must be compatible with the same voltage and current.

For example, if the phone supports a 9V/2A charger, but it charges with a 1A charger, the process will take much longer.

Another example, if a charger with a specified current of 2A is used to charge a smartphone that supports a maximum of 0.7A, this will not make it charge faster.

The phone can also be charged faster if a similar charger is used, but with a higher current.

Note: products without a certificate are not guaranteed declared effectiveness.

How does Quick Charge technology work?

Quick Charge technology allows you to optimize the energy supply to your smartphone battery during the first stages of charging.

Thus, some phones can be charged up to 80% in just half an hour. However, in the final stages of charging, the energy transfer is not as high, regardless of which charging technology is used.

Consequently, the battery can be charged up to 50% in a short amount of time, but you will still have to wait more than an hour to fully charge the smartphone.

QC 3.0 charges mobile devices 4 times faster. Compared to QC 2, charging speed has increased by almost forty percent.

Qualcomm focuses consumers' attention not on increased charging speeds, but on increased efficiency. Thus, the main innovation in the technology is the INOV function, which is capable of intelligently selecting the required voltage, more accurately optimizing the power and charging time of a particular device.

Differences between QC 3.0 and previous versions

To understand the main differences between the latest version of quick charge technology and previous ones, just look at the table below:

After reviewing, we can conclude that due to the increased voltage, the charging time of devices decreased from version to version. The maximum power in the third version remained almost the same as in the second - 18 W. At the same time, low voltage batteries receive higher power. Thanks to this, they charge much faster.

Why doesn't my phone support fast charging? This is exactly the question most often asked by owners of smartphones that do not support Quick Charge. For example, owners of a new smartphone running stock Android would be very disappointed by the lack of Quick Charge in the device.

The problem is that Qualcomm's technology is proprietary. And its support depends on the model of the installed processor. These are the nuances that developers take into account when releasing a new smartphone.

According to the instructions from the Qualcomm website, they do not prohibit the use of certified adapters on phones without fast charging. Yes, your smartphone will charge properly, but you won't be able to experience all the benefits of Quick Charge when charging your device.

Conclusion

The Quick Change function is quite promising and in demand. The developers are not sitting idly by, but are improving it, complementing the 4th generation of fast charging technology with new functions.

Users will be pleasantly surprised by the new Xiaomi smartphones supporting Quick Change 4.0, the presentation of which is expected in the first quarter of 2018.

A phone that goes off at the wrong time is the cause of nervous breakdown and subsequent prolonged depression for more than one thousand people. Even if there is no important conversation, a dead mobile friend is still frustrating. And if you urgently need to talk, even throw yourself off the bridge. But not everything is so gloomy - there are many options on how to bring your electronic assistant back to life. This is a battery adapter, a power bank, and a “fast” adapter with Quick Charge support. It is the last option that I would like to discuss.

The fact is that for several years Qualcomm has been producing chips that are compatible with fast charging technology. The technology itself, which is now widespread, is called Quick Charge 2.0 - its support is provided either by using a separate chip in the system or a compatible Snapdragon chip. According to the developers, this technology speeds up charging the device's battery by up to 75%.

What is this, fast battery charging?

The advantages of this type of charging can be appreciated by watching this video (from Qualcomm, yes):

In the first few minutes, smartphones compatible with Quick Charge 2.0 are charged for several hours of work, so there is no problem for the user at all: he ran into a cafe or plugged into an outlet anywhere, waited a few minutes, ran away with a phone that is capable of working the remaining part of the day.

Currently compatible with this technology are Motorola DROID Turbo, Nexus 6, Samsung Galaxy Note Edge, Samsung Galaxy Note 4, HTC Desire EYE, HTC One remix, HTC One (M8), Motorola Moto X (2014), Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact, Sony Xperia Z3 Compact, Sony Xperia Z3, Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet and some other devices.

And yes, the charger must be appropriate.

Qualcomm is currently developing Quick Charge 3.0. Charge 3.0 is backward compatible with previous standards, plus added support for USB Type-C. Previous standards supported a certain operating voltage range - 5V, 9V, 12V and 20V, but now an option is being implemented where the voltage can be anything, from 3.6V to 20V, with an interval of 0.2V.

How it works?

Each phone or tablet is designed for a certain current and voltage. This is both good and bad. The good thing is that the phone is its own protection, the bad thing is that you won’t be able to charge a regular phone using more current.

Fast charging is a little different.

Such adapters, as it were, widen the “doorway” and provide faster charging of the device, allowing the device to accept more voltage and current. For example, if old devices supported 5V and 1A, then new gadgets work with 9V and 2A (this is an example, the values can be higher).

If you connect Quick Charge to an old device, nothing bad will happen, the device will not burn out, but will charge at the same rate. So here you need both a smartphone (or tablet) and a charger that supports the Qick Charge standard.

Does fast charging harm the battery?

Many users believe that the faster you charge the battery, the more it reduces battery life. Slow charging, on the contrary, has a beneficial effect on the health of the battery without damaging it.

However, this is not entirely true. Back in 2014, Californian scientists conducted a study according to which fast charging does not harm the battery at all.

During the study, scientists found that with both fast and slow charging, the batteries were charged evenly and all charged particles were used. Over time, both groups' batteries performed as well as at the very beginning of the experiment.

What are the fast charging options?

There are quite a lot of them, there is no point in listing them all, we will try to mention only the most successful, in our opinion, chargers and powerbanks.

The chargers listed below have another advantage - AIPower technology, which automatically determines the input characteristics of a mobile gadget. For “smart” charging of devices via AIPower, a built-in TI (Texas Instrument) microchip is used. This is done so that the charging of a device that does not support Quick Charge occurs as efficiently as possible, with the optimal voltage and current that the smartphone or tablet supports.

An ideal option for fast charging is a Powerbank, which supports both Qualcomm Quick Charge and AIPower technology.

Aukey PB-T1

The device capacity is 10400 mAh, which is enough for several full charges of modern smartphones. There is only one USB port, supporting Qualcomm fast charging technology.

If the device does not support fast charging, no problem - it can be charged using Aukey PB-T1 in normal mode, but with maximum efficiency (maximum output current - 2.1 A in this case).

The device body is made of anodized aluminum, so it is not so easy to damage the external battery.

Characteristics

Model: PB-T1
Technologies: Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0
Capacity: 10400mAh
Number of USB ports: 1
Input current: DC 5V/2.1A, 9V/1.8A
Output current: DC 5V/2.1A, 9V/1.8A, 12V/1.35A
Size: 137mm x 105mm x 37mm
Weight: 364.7 g.

You can buy this universal charger at.

There are other options, both just chargers and powerbanks.

Aukey PA-T1: Charger with five USB ports at once, allowing you to charge five mobile devices. One of the ports supports Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0. protects devices from power surges, short circuits and other possible problems.

If you don’t need to charge five devices at once, you can choose a simpler option - with three USB ports, one of which is smart. Well, with just one USB port, supporting Quick Charge.

For the motorist it is suitable with two ports, one of which is “fast”.

TechMatte: This is another manufacturer of Powerbanks with the Qick Charge function. The capacity is 5600 mAh, plus there are two ports that allow you to charge two mobile devices at once.
TechMatte CHOE: will allow you to charge an entire plane, the capacity here is 15600 mAh, there are two outputs. Tablet, phone, smartphone - you can charge everything.

Compatibility

Let us remind you that the following devices are now compatible with Quick Charge 2.0:

Asus: Transformer T100, Zenfone 2
Droid Turbo by Motorola
Eben 8848
Fujitsu: Arrows NX, F-02G, F-03G, F-05F
Google Nexus 6
HTC: Butterfly 2, One (M8), One (M9)
Kyocera Urbano L03
LeTV: One Max, One Pro
LG: G2 Flex 2, G4
Moto: X Pure Edition, X Style, Moto X by Motorola
Panasonic CM-1
Ramos Mos1
Samsung Galaxy: Note 4, Note 5, Note Edge, S5 (Japan), S6, S6 Edge
Sharp: Aquos Pad, Aquos Zeta, SH01G/02G
Sony Xperia: Z2 (Japan), Z2 Tablet (Japan), Z3, Z3 Compact, Z3 Tablet, Z3+, Z4, Z4 Tablet, Z5, Z5 Compact
Xiaomi: Mi 3, Mi 4, Mi Note, Mi Note Pro
Yota Phone 2
ZTE: Axon Pro, Nubia My Prague, Z9

Let me remind you that if your phone is not on the list, then it can also be charged with “high-speed” charging, nothing will burn or explode. It’s just that the charging time for a phone without Quick Charge support using high-speed charging will be normal, the same as when charging the phone with its own adapter.

The biggest problem with modern mobile devices is their battery life. Sometimes the battery charge lasts for a maximum of 4 hours, after which you will have to look for a charger and a place where you can recharge. At such moments, you want to keep your smartphone on charge 24 hours a day. There are two ways to solve this problem: either use a larger capacity battery, or charge the battery faster.

Quick Charger(literally “fast charge”) is a technology that came from Qualcomm back in June 2012, which allows you to charge mobile devices several times faster. Other chip makers also boast similar fast charging technology. This is how MediaTek speeds up charging gadgets using technology Pump Express Plus, which works with the company's chipsets, including the flagship MT6595 and the more affordable MT6732. Motorola offers a charger Turbo Charger, which allows you to charge your gadget’s battery 75% faster compared to conventional chargers.

But still Quick Charge leads the fast memory market, possibly due to the fact that Intel and Samsung have a license for Qualcomm technology and do not offer their own developments.

How does fast charging work?

Many of you have long noticed that your smartphone charges faster when you connect the charger to a wall outlet than when charging from a computer’s USB port. This happens because the output power of the 220V outlet is higher than the output power of the USB 2.0 port (5 Volts and 1 or 2 Amps versus 5 Volts, 0.5 Amps). Using simple formulas from a school physics course, you can calculate that a wall outlet will charge your device 100% much faster than a USB port.

Additionally, every smartphone has a power management circuit built into its PCB. This circuit defines the limits of how much current the battery can accept (i.e. charge) without negatively impacting the battery. Smartphones without fast charging are limited to a maximum of 10 W (i.e. 5 Volts times 2 Amps).

Fast charging effectively raises this limit. If the power adapter can increase the power (for example, up to 15 Watts, i.e. 9 Volts times 1.67 Amps), and if the smartphone's power management scheme allows it to take on this additional power, then such a power adapter will charge the battery much faster.

Does my phone support fast charging?

To support fast charging technology on your smartphone or tablet, you need to have three things:

Quick Charge certified phone or tablet;
Charging adapter supporting Quick Charge;
High quality USB cable.

All these points are needed together. You won't be able to charge your smartphone or tablet if at least one of these points is not met. Therefore, if you have a Quick Charge charging adapter and an appropriate quality USB cable, you will not be able to use the fast charging function if the smartphone is not Quick Charge certified.

A list of devices that are guaranteed to support Quick Charge technology can be found on the Qualcomm website. There are not many devices currently released for MediaTek and its Pump Express Plus technology, a list of which can be viewed.

As for USB cables, fast charging is supported as standard micro USB, USB Type A, and the new standard USB Type C. You can learn about all modern computer connectors and more in the article Types of computer ports: types of connectors and adapters.

So the simplest cable needed is 24 AWG (American Wire Gauge). The AWG marking is an American standard for measuring conductors, which states the following:

The thicker and shorter the cable, the lower its resistance should be, therefore, the lower the voltage drop, therefore, the less likely the USB device will be unstable.

The cable number indicates its size: a lower number indicates a larger size. And it is usually written like this: USB 28/24 AWG. The first number (28) refers to the conductor size, the second number (24) refers to the power wire size. 24 AWG is most preferred for fast charging, but a 20 AWG USB cable may not be suitable.

In addition, the marking of the “correct” USB cable must contain:

Shield - shielded cable
P (Pair) - the cores are twisted into a pair. The presence of P in one of the numbers is very desirable.
2C - two conductors.

Charging time from 0 to 60%, charging time from 0 to 100%

There is one more important point to know about fast charging. The point is that fast charging technology speeds up the initial charging period, but it cannot speed up the overall charging period.

Those. Fast charging maintains a high charging speed relative to the total charge time, but up to approximately 60%. Then the charging speed rapidly drops to the usual level and from 60% to 100% the phone charges in time, generally a little faster than normal charging.

The thing is that greater electricity output during charging produces more heat. Lithium batteries can be damaged if they overheat; That's why all fast chargers have a temperature sensor. And if it becomes too time-critical in the charging process, fast charging will strive to reduce power consumption to the usual levels of the USB 2.0 standard.

Qualcomm is trying to solve this problem with the new Quick Charge 3.0, but the technology is still in the development stage.

Please note that 60% is an approximate figure for reaching the maximum charge threshold for fast charging. Some phones and tablets can withstand higher rates, up to 75%.

Unification of chargers for Quick Charger

All the devices that have come out recently and are Quick Charger certified do not allow the user to worry about which gadgets from which companies are worth buying and which are not in order to maintain the fast charging function.

If you have a Quick Charge certified charger from Motorola and want to connect it to your HTC One M8, fast charging will work as before.

From here it should be understood that you do not need to pay attention to brands. It doesn't matter whether you use a Nexus and an ASUS charger or one from a third party, the charging speed will be the same.

Over 5 years, productivity in mobile electronics has increased 5-10 times, while battery production technologies have remained unchanged. The average battery capacity is 3000 mAh, which is 3 – 3.5 times higher than that of phones of the last decade. At the same time, there is a tendency for capacity to decrease due to a decrease in the thickness of the case, which will negatively affect the battery life of the mobile device.

As a temporary solution, fast charging technology has been developed that can speed up the charge replenishment process by up to 75%. As a result, waiting time is reduced and mobility is increased, since the user is not chained to a power outlet for 3-4 hours. Let's take a closer look at the technology, operating principle, advantages and disadvantages.

What is fast charging

Fast charging is a technology that aims to increase the capacity of voltage (V) or current (A), or both. The point is to recharge the built-in power source as quickly, efficiently and safely as possible. The charging speed is affected by current parameters, as well as the generation of fast charging.

Use cases

The essence of fast charging technology is to quickly charge the battery. Therefore, this option will be useful for users whose devices are equipped with small-capacity batteries or, due to being busy, actively consume power. Let's consider the effectiveness of using technology in real life.

Charging a high-capacity battery

Some smartphones and tablets are equipped with power supplies of 5000 – 12,000 mAh. Charging such devices with a network adapter with current parameters of 5V/1A will take 6-14 hours. And with the use of first generation fast charging (5V/2A), the waiting time will be reduced by almost half.

Recharging for an emergency

Suppose that on the way to work or school, the game drained your smartphone, and for the rest of the day the charge will only be enough for phone calls. You need to replenish the charge, and you have 15 minutes of free time. During this time, the 3000 mAh battery will charge:

Standard charger 5V/1A – 8.3%.
Fast charging 1st generation 5V/2A – 16.7%.
Fast charging 2nd generation 9V/2A – 30%.

Operating principle

The charging process consists of two stages. At the first stage, the current power is as high as a smartphone or tablet can receive. The second stage begins when the level of 60-75% is reached. The current strength begins to gradually decrease, and the charging process at this stage extends for 30-60 minutes. This is done to ensure that the battery does not overheat and fail.

Fast charging technology uses the same principle of operation, with the only difference being that in the first stage the current or voltage, or both, is higher. So at the beginning of the process the battery is charged quickly, and at the end at normal speed. And it is advisable to use the technology when the battery is discharged to 15-30%. Therefore, marketers write that the battery will be charged 60 or 75% in 30 minutes, but do not specify the time for full charging - 1.5-2 hours.

It is worth noting that fast charging technology is incorporated during the development of a mobile device. It requires the installation of an appropriate processor, as well as a power controller capable of receiving and distributing energy with high current/voltage values. And most importantly, you need a network adapter that supports the necessary parameters.

Which Android smartphones and tablets support fast charging technology

The manufacturer indicates support for this technology on the box or in the package list. For example, on the box of the Motorola Droid Turbo 2, a proprietary charger with a power of 25 W is indicated. Information about technology support is also indicated in the specifications on the company’s website.

It is important to know that some manufacturers do not provide chargers that support fast charging technology. In this case, the user is forced to buy a network adapter separately.

How to choose a charger that supports fast charging

On the manufacturer's website you need to specify the type of fast charging, as well as the parameters of the received current: 2A/5V, 2A/7V or 2A/9V. Then select the appropriate charger, which will indicate fast charging support and the required current / voltage ratio.

Types of fast charging

Qualcomm Quick charge.

Qualcomm is the founder of fast charging and the leader of this technology, due to the widest distribution of chips and processors for mobile electronics. In four years, three generations of fast charging have appeared.

Quick charge 1.0

Increasing the current to 2A, adapter parameters 2A/5V, power 10 W. Compared to conventional 1A/5V AC adapters, the charging process is almost 2 times faster (2000 mAh per hour).

Quick charge 2.0

The voltage increased to 12V, adapter parameters 2A/5V, 2A/7V, 2A/9V and 1.2A/12V, power up to 18 W. Compared to the first generation, the charging process will be reduced by 1.8 times (up to 3600 mAh per hour). In this case, the user can be given a choice of charging speed by manually switching the voltage from the device menu, or the voltage is fixed - 7V or 9V. In both cases, the decision is made by the mobile device manufacturer at the development stage.

Quick charge 3.0

Improving the charging process by dynamically changing the voltage (3.2 - 20V in steps of 200 mV). The network adapter parameters and power are the same, but Qualcomm notes an increase of 3-8% or more.

MediaTek Pump Express

Competing fast charging solution for MediaTek processors. Due to the low penetration of the technology, details are scarce, but the principle of operation is the same - increasing the current, voltage, or both. Also, the Chinese manufacturer does not hesitate to talk about its superiority over its competitors without citing specific numbers.

Pump Express

The first generation of fast charging with voltage 3.6 - 5V, current 1.2 - 2A, power 5 W (1.2A), 7.5 W (1.5 A) and 10 W (2A).

Pump Express Plus

Second generation with increased voltage (5, 7, 9, 12) and current up to 2A: 15 W (9V/1.67A) and 24 W (12V/2A).

Pump Express 3.0

Nothing is known about the third generation of fast charging. According to MediaTek, 70% of the charge will be replenished in 20 minutes.

In addition, fast charging technology is being developed by mobile electronics manufacturers: Motorola - TurboCharge, Samsung - FastCharge, ASUS - BoostMaster, etc. The essence is the same, charging the smartphone with a 15 or 18 W power adapter (2A/9V, 1.67A/9V or 3A/5V).

The distinctive implementation of OPPO (VOOC Flash Charging) and its subsidiary OnePlus (Dash Charge) is 4A/5V (20 W). In this case, the battery is divided into several cells, through which the current is evenly distributed.

Advantages and disadvantages

The advantage of the technology is the fast and safe charging of a mobile device. This reduces waiting time and increases mobility. In addition, claims that the use of fast charging accelerates wear and tear of the battery have been refuted by scientists from Stanford University and the Stanford Institute for Materials Science and Energy. At the same time, scientists were able to understand the structure and internal processes in order to increase the charging speed in the future without consequences.

At the same time, the main disadvantage of the technology is the slowdown in the search for new power sources, as well as the optimization of energy consumption. For companies, it is better to recharge the battery 2-3 times a day than to achieve slow energy consumption.

Conclusion

Fast charging technology is an effective way to replenish battery energy and increase mobility. There are interesting developments in this direction, including UMB with the Quick charge function. But due to the common myth about accelerated battery degradation, users prefer to continue to use adapters with low current supply. Therefore, companies should invest in optimizing energy consumption and increasing capacity while maintaining battery size. Sometimes scientists announce new power sources for portable electronics. But until companies and corporations see profit in this, the situation will remain unchanged.

Nowadays, RuleSmart visitors often ask questions like this, like how to enable fast charging on a smartphone. Of course, there are those who want to turn it off. In both cases, it all looks quite interesting, if not comical.
First, let's figure out what's what. Fast charging technology allows you to increase the speed of filling the battery capacity, often by multiples. This technology is relevant, at least, for batteries with a capacity of over 3000 mAh. Everything below does not make sense, you can use 1A there.

How to enable fast charging

If your smartphone does not support this technology, then no way. Well, you can’t enable software that is not supported by hardware. But don’t be upset, you can take a more powerful power supply, if the kit comes with 1A, then take 2A and the charging time will be reduced by approximately half. But don’t forget that this will not add “life” to the battery, but will shorten its service life.
Now let's move on to considering the technology itself. In fact, the “trick” is called Quick Charge - this is a development by Qualcomm, which became the first among fast charging standards. The technology is based on increasing the current strength. Nothing new, just small software improvements with a minimum of movement on the hardware.

Quick Charge 2.0: battery charges up to 50% in approximately 30 minutes

Quick Charge 3.0: Battery charges to 80% in about 35 minutes

Quick Charge 4.0: 20% more efficient than the previous version and hardly heats up the case.

All the “shamanism” is concentrated in the power supply itself, while control is left to the processor (from Qualcomm, of course). Significant hardware work was carried out here.
The main function of Quick Charge is to recognize the current state of the battery and adjust the power supply correctly. In this case, charging from 0 to 60% will be much faster than from 60 to 100%. In this situation, the battery will be “filled” from 0 to 50% in 30 minutes, and thoughtful power regulation will not allow high voltage and current to harm the battery.

Which smartphones support fast charging?

Such smartphones include, for example, Xiaomi Mi6, Xiaomi Mi Max, HTC 10, Meizu MX6, LG G6, Moto X Force, Galaxy S8 and many others. In any case, Qualcomm's website provides a comprehensive list.

How to disable fast charging

Not every device can boast the ability to programmatically disable fast charging. However, if there is such an opportunity, then just go to the Settings - Battery (Power or Battery) section, where you can configure the whole thing. In addition, you can simply start using a regular 1A adapter, which will charge your gadget for a long time, but will not shorten the battery life so much. By the way, fast charging also leads to excessive heating, which is not good.