Qualcomm has announced its latest charging standard - QuickCharge 4+. The successor to Quick Charge 4 brings a number of discernible benefits to future handsets running the firm’s Snapdragon 835 chipsets.
When the firm announced Quick Charge 4 with the Snapdragon 835 processor, it promised to take a device from empty to 50% in just 15 minutes.
With Quick Charge 4+ that is now 15% faster.
Qualcomm is also promising devices will be up to 3 degrees celsius cooler while charging, meaning the new standard is also safer.
There are also efficiency gains of up to 30%, which is ideal if you’re replenishing your phone from a portable battery pack.
Qualcomm is also promising the following benefits, on top of those provided by Quick Charge 4:
Dual Charge: already an option in earlier versions, but now more powerful, Dual Charge includes a second power management IC in the device. Charging a device via Dual Charge divides the charge current, allowing for lower thermal dissipation and reduced charge time.
Intelligent Thermal Balancing: a further enhancement to Dual Charge, intelligent thermal balancing is engineered to move current via the coolest path autonomously, eliminating hot spots for optimized power delivery
Advanced Safety Features: Quick Charge 4 already includes rigorous built-in safety protocols. Quick Charge 4+ goes one step further and is designed to monitor both the case and connector temperature levels simultaneously. This extra layer of protection helps ward against overheating and short-circuit or damage to the Type-C connector.
Unfortunately, none of these benefits will be coming to existing handsets as they’re hardware based.
So far, only one device, the Nubia Z17, will support Quick Charge 4+. However, we can probably expect future Snapdragon 835 devices to incorporate the tech as the year goes on.
