Fast Charging : PD 3.0 vs QC 3.0 2020 Detailed Review.

Fast Charging : PD 3.0 vs QC 3.0 2020 Detailed Review.

Fast charging allows for optimized charging in the early stage of charging; meaning, you get an improved battery capacity after a short period of charging

What is Fast Charging?

Contrary to popular belief, fast charging doesn’t exactly mean quick charging speed. Fast charge is measured by the number of wattage your smartphone battery can deliver the higher it delivers, the faster it charges.

So, batteries that deliver a minimum of 9W are regarded as fast Boosting. Standard chargers/charging process only deliver 5 Watt

Fast charging allows for optimized charging in the early stage of charging; meaning, you get an improved battery capacity after a short period of charging.

Companies do not boast of a full fast charge because power transfer in the concluding stage of charging drops.

PD 3 vs QC 3

Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0

First thing to note is, for Qualcomm Quick Charge (QC) to work, both the smartphone and the charger must be compatible with the same charging voltages and currents.

For instance, if your smartphone supports charging at 9V/2A, and you have a 1A charger, then the charging speed will definitely not improve.

The Qualcomm quick charge 3.0 was a massive improvement for the previous versions (1.0, 2.0). It boasts of over 40% increase in speed from the Quick 1.0.

However, the most interesting feature of the Quick 3.0 is its INOV (Intelligent Negotiation for Optimum Voltage) feature.

This feature was designed with, not just charging speed, but charging efficiency in mind. It allows for monitored power output. This is because different smartphone batteries come with different charge voltage.

Power delivery  3.0

It was developed by the USB implementers Forum (USB-IF).

It works a little bit differently from Qualcomm’s Quick Charge but they both try to achieve the same result faster charge.

Power Delivery was designed to allow any smartphones to fast charge over a USB connection cable.

It is capable of delivering up to 100W – even though smartphones don’t need up to that to fast. It is useful for other devices though, including laptops with USB-C port.

Apple, for instance, uses the USB- PD fast charge for its iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone X, iPhone 8, and iPhone 8 Plus.

The power delivery 3.0 came with a few improvements from the previous 2.0 version. It offers a wide range of rules in four categories —7.5Wattage, 15W, 27W, and 45W— each with a range of voltage.

For instance, sources supplying 27W will offer 5, 9, and 15 volts. Power delivery 3.0 could reach a supply of 100W with 20V.

Which should you choose?

While Power Delivery 3.0 gives you the higher energy output – which, in my opinion, you honestly don’t need on your smartphone Qualcomm’s Quick offers something better, the INOV

It offers you fast charging and helps reduce energy loss as well. This helps reduce the risk of quick battery deterioration.

So, when you’re in search of a new smartphone with the fast charge feature, Your best bet would be Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 3.0.

To find out if a smartphone supports Quick Charge, check the specification of that smartphone.

Qualcomm Quick Charge

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon SoCs are used in many popular smartphones and tablets. It’s fast standard, Quick Charge, has been through multiple iterations.

The current implementation is Quick 4.0, which is backward-compatible with older Quick Charge accessories and devices.

Unlike USB PD, Quick 2.0 and 3.0 can be delivered using the USB-A connector. Quick Charge 4.0 is exclusive to USB-C.

Quick Charge 4.0 is only present in phones that use the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8xx, and it’s present in many North American tier 1 OEM Android devices made by Samsung, LG, Motorola, OnePlus, ZTE, and Google.

How to fast charge a Lithium-ion battery

Now that we’ve covered the standards, let’s delve into how fast charging actually speeds up a battery’s  cycle. Lithium-ion batteries used inside smartphones and other electronic gadgets don’t charge in a linear fashion.

The  cycle is broken into two distinct phases.

The first is the increasing voltage, or constant current phase. The battery voltage steadily increases from as low as 2V up to its peak of around 4.2V as it charges up.

This varies depending on the exact battery. The battery draws the highest peak current during this phase, which remains constant until the battery voltage peaks.

The voltage then becomes constant and the current begins to fall. Batteries that charge beyond this point draw less current and therefore charge slower.