Qualcomm’s quick-charge tech will get your battery back to full in under an hour

By Jon Martindale September 15, 2015

Quick Charge 3.0: next-gen fast charging technology

As much as smartphones have come a long way in recent years, it’s never quite felt like battery technology kept up. Sure there are some phones that with some tweaking and coaxing can make it through two days between charges, but that’s only if you don’t use it for anything too intensive. Larger batteries are difficult to incorporate too, due to sizing issues.

Qualcomm’s solution to that has been to speed up the charging process, so if you do have to plug your device in, it won’t be for long. It’s now shown off the latest version of its system, Quick Charge 3.0, demonstrating its ability to charge a smartphone to 80 percent of its capacity in just 35 minutes, which means most devices can be unplugged in under an hour while still netting you a full charge.

This is possible, due to what Qualcomm describes (via Liliputing) as Intelligent Negotiation for Optimum Voltage, making the charge process more efficient and supporting of new voltages in 200mV increments. This speeds up the process without overpowering the battery, which means it won’t affect its lifespan.

Another great innovation is the fact that it’s connector independent, so any compatible phone will be able to use it. It even supports USB type-C connectors.

The first devices compatible with this new tech will be running Qualcomm Snapdragon processors, like the 820, 620, 618, 617, and 430.

As much as this is exciting for the millions of smartphone users around the world who have to deal with lackluster battery life, we’re especially excited to see what a technology like this could do for laptops. It wouldn’t be such a big deal if your gaming system could only go for a couple of hours if you could charge it up in under an hour.

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