As you know, fast charging technology has taken an important place in our lives. It’s very useful in daily life, instead of charging device in 2 hours, you can now charge it in 30 minutes. Most of today’s devices now support fast charging.
If you are a Xiaomi user, you may have heard the term QuickCharge, or HyperCharge technology that comes with some new Xiaomi devices. Alright, What are the differences in fast charging technologies?
Qualcomm QuickCharge
QuickCharge is Qualcomm’s fast charging protocol, most Qualcomm SoC devices supports this. QuickCharge technology overcomes the standard 5V-1A limit, allowing the device to charge at higher voltages and higher currents. It was developed in 2013 and the first QuickCharge protocol (1.0) was released for users. Now, QuickCharge 5.0 is available today. Let’s take a look at other QuickCharge protocols.
QuickCharge 1.0 (QC 1.0 – 10W)
Qualcomm’s first fast charging technology. Introduced in 2013, it’s available in Snapdragon 215 and Snapdragon 600 series SoCs. Charging voltage max. 6.3V and current is max. 2A. Compared to charging speed of older devices, QC 1.0 charges about 40% faster. For this protocol, it’s enough to integrate a PMIC with QC 1.0 support. A standard USB cable can give this speed, so there is no need to buy a new cable. And Xiaomi’s first QC 1.0 supported device is Mi 2 (aries).
QuickCharge 2.0 (QC 2.0 – 18W)
Next fast charging technology is QC 2.0. Introduced in 2014. Available on most Snapdragon SoC’s released from 2014 to 2016. Supports many Android devices. 5V – 3A, 9V – 2A, 12V – 1.67A voltage and ampere ranges available and it can charge at max. 18W power. For example, Xiaomi’s Mi Note Pro (leo) is a supports QC 2.0.
QuickCharge 3.0 (36W)
Next protocol is QC 3.0. Introduced in 2016. This will be seventy for a while, and a new protocol was not introduced until 2020. In other words, most Snapdragon SoC devices from 2016 to 2020 support QC 3.0. It charges a 3.6-22V voltage range and a 2.6A – 4.6A current range. Up to 36W with 12V – 3A voltage and current.
What makes it different from other protocols is that it supports next-generation technologies. e.g. INOV (Intelligent Negotiation for Optimal Voltage), it can choose the optimal voltage between 0.2V – 3.6V and 22V depending on the situation. In this way, there is a significant increase in battery health. It can charge 75% faster than QC 2.0, with 8°C – 10°C less heating.
QuickCharge 3+ (same as 3.0)
In fact, most of its features are the same as QC 3.0. Only features is scalable voltage in 20mV steps taken from Quick Charge 4. Available on Snapdragon 765 and 765G chipsets, introduced in 2020. World’s first QC3+ supported device is Xiaomi’s Mi 10 Lite 5G (monet).
QuickCharge 4 & 4+ (100W)
Quick Charge 4 technology stands out with its battery-friendliness. Qualcomm company introduced this protocol in 2016 with Snapdragon 835 and “5 minutes charging – 5 hours battery life” slogan. It can charge from 0 to 50% in 15 minutes. Moreover, it supports USB PD (power delivery) protocol. Dual Charge feature added in QC 2.0 is still available. INOV 3 and battery saver technologies included. It supports with USB-C charging at 3.6-20V and 2.6 – 4.6A, and charges 5V – 9V and 3A values for PD 3.0 protocol. Charging power max. 100W with USB-C and max. 27W with PD 3.0.
QuickCharge 4+ is same as QC 4, announced 2017 and just includes “Intelligent Thermal Balancing” and “Advanced Safety Features” technologies.
QuickCharge 5 (+100W)
Qualcomm’s latest fast charging protocol. It can go over +100W. It can charge a 4500mAh battery to 50% in 5 minutes. It came with Snapdragon 888 and 888+ processors.
World’s first QC 5 supported device is Xiaomi’s Mi 10 Ultra (cas).
Qualcomm’s QuickCharge technology has formed the basis of other charging technologies. Let’s take a look at other charging protocols.
USB Power Delivery (PD)
As you know, standard USB protocols have low charging speeds. Even USB 3.1 can reach max. 7.5W power. So fast charging requires a new technology. Here is where USB PD comes into play. Alright, what is USB PD?
USB PD (power delivery) technology, which is the most up-to-date protocol of the USB interface, can reach higher voltages with max. 5A. It has profiles for 10W for handheld devices, 18W for tablets and most peripherals, 36W for notebooks, 60W for larger laptops and docking stations, and 100W for workstations. Completely according to use.
USB PD 2.0 (100W)
This fast charging standart released 2014. PD interfaces only works with USB-C (USB-C to USB-C). Charging voltages and currents is 5V-3A, 9V-3A, 12V-3A, 15V-3A, 20V-5A, in addition to its maximum charging power that reaches 100W. Apple MacBook 2015 is a good example for this.
USB PD 3.0 (100W)
The charging currents and voltages are exactly same as USB PD 2.0, but there is much improved. Added a more detailed description of the device’s built-in battery features. In addition, device software and hardware version identification and PD communication and software update functions included. Finally, and as a third improvement, the trick has been added to a certificate and digital signature functionality. In short, there is a device-specific PD charging protocol. This offers more efficient charging.
USB PD 3.0 PPS (+100W)
USB PD 3.0 PPS was introduced at 2017. PPS feature combines the two available charging modes of high voltage and low current and low voltage and high current, making them more sensitive and functional.
Also USB PD 3.0 PPS has USB Type-C interface, maximum charging power reaching 100W. Charging voltages and currents same as PD 3.0 is 5V-3A, 9V-3A, 12V-3A, 15V-3A, 20V-5A. But, with USB-IF Association‘s updates it now has specific PPS voltages of 3.3V-5.9V 3A, 3.3-11V 3A, 3.3-16V 3A, 3.3-21V 3A, 3.3-21V 5A.
USB PD 3.1 (240W)
USB 3.1 PD, the latest protocol published by the USB-IF Association. It’s an enhanced version of USB 3.0 PPS. USB PD 3.1, the latest version and with major improvements, divides power into two ranges: standard power range (SPR) and extended power range (EPR). SPR is currently mainstream.
Its interface, of course, Type-C and includes all other PD protocol’s voltage-ampere ranges. Moreover this protocol has a 15V-28V 5A, 15V-36V 5A, and 15V-48V 5A current-voltage ranges.
In the phone market, they are actually the same, because PD supported phones generally use 18W or 27W. All Apple devices after iPhone 8 use USB PD interface, or Google Pixel devices uses USB PD. So PD 3.0 standard is enough. Apple‘s phones use the USB PD 3.0 interface and consumes max. 20W (iPhone 13) power. Most flagship Xiaomi devices after 2019 support PD but don’t need it, because they uses QuickCharge technology.
Xiaomi HyperCharge (200W)
The huge technology that Xiaomi introduced last year. Xiaomi’s first 200W wired and 120W wireless charging powers were achieved. This technology, which first came with the Mi 11T Pro (vili), later came to the Mi 11i Hypercharge (pisarropro) device as a name, well Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G (pisarropro). Hypercharge can charge fully a 4000mAh battery in 8 minutes with 200W wired and 15 minutes with 120W wireless. Xiaomi breaks new ground in fast charging.
