Quick Charge is a proprietary charging protocol featured in QualcommSOCs, used in devices such as mobile phones, for managing power delivered over USB, mainly by communicating to the power supply and negotiating a voltage. It increases the voltage and thus charges batteries in devices faster than standard USB rates allow. Quick Charge 2.0 and later is primarily used in wall adaptors, but it is also implemented in in-car chargers and power banks. Quick Charge is also the basis of other proprietary rapid-charging systems developed by other manufacturers.
Details
Quick Charge is a proprietary technology which allows for the charging of battery powered devices, primarily mobile phones, at power levels exceeding the 5 volts and 2 amps allowed by basic USB standards. Numerous other companies have their own competing technologies, including MediaTek Pump Express and OPPOVOOC. Though not publicly documented, the protocol has been reverse-engineered.. To use Quick Charge, both the host providing power and the device must support it. In 2012 the USB Implementers Forum announced that the USB Power Delivery standard had been finalized, allowing for devices to draw up to 100 watts of power over capable USB ports. This new technology was first seen in a Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 prototype that charged from 1% to 100% in 17 minutes. Quick Charge 2.0 introduced an optional feature called Dual Charge. Dual Charge uses two PMICs to split the power into 2 streams to reduce phone temperature. Quick Charge 3.0 introduced INOV, Battery Saver Technologies, HVDCP+, and optional Dual Charge+. INOV is an algorithm that determines the optimum power transfer while maximizing efficiency. Battery Saver Technologies aims to maintain at least 80% of its original charge capacity after 500 charge cycles. Qualcomm claims Quick Charge 3.0 is up to 4–6 °C cooler, 16% faster and 38% more efficient than Quick Charge 2.0, and that Quick Charge 3.0 with Dual Charge+ is up to 7–8 °C cooler, 27% faster and 45% more efficient than Quick Charge 2.0 with Dual Charge. Quick Charge 4 was announced in December 2016 alongside the Snapdragon 835. Quick Charge 4 includes HVDCP++, optional Dual Charge++, INOV 3.0, and Battery Saver Technologies 2. It is cross compatible with both USB-C and USB PD specifications, supporting fallback to USB PD if either the charger or device is not compatible. It also features additional safety measures to protect against over-voltage, over-current and overheating, as well as cable quality detection. Qualcomm claims Quick Charge 4 with Dual Charge++ is up to 5 °C cooler, 20% faster and 30% more efficient than Quick Charge 3.0 with Dual Charge+. Quick Charge 4+ was announced on June 1, 2017. It introduces Intelligent Thermal Balancing and Advanced Safety Features to eliminate hot spots and protect against overheating and short-circuit or damage to the USB-C connector. Dual Charge++ is mandatory, while in prior versions Dual Charge was optional. Quick Charge 5 was announced on July 27, 2020. With up to 100W of power and on a mobile phone with a 4500mAh battery, Qualcomm promises 50% in just 5 minutes of charging. Qualcomm announced that this standard is cross compatible with USB PD PPS programmable power supply, and that it's technology can communicate with the charger when charging double cells and double the voltage and amperage out. For instance, a single battery requests 8.8v of power. The dual cell can then ask the PPS charger to output 17.6 volts and split it in half to the two separate battery, pulling 5.6 amps total to achieve 100 watts.
On February 25, 2019 Qualcomm announced Quick Charge for Wireless Power. Quick Charge for Wireless Power falls back on the Qi standard by the Wireless Power Consortium if either the charger or device is not compatible.
Versions
Other charging protocols
Quick Charge-based protocols
Note: These are compatible with Quick Charge-enabled chargers
