In 2016, our smartphones and tablets will charge faster than ever before. In fact, it’s so fast that having a smaller battery on the latest Galaxy S7 or LG G5 will no longer even be an issue. It’s called Quick Charge technology, and today it’s Qualcomm. announced Quick Charge 3.0 that promises to charge phones to 80% in just 35 minutes.
Smartphones these days are getting bigger, faster and are full of higher resolution screens. Everything is improving while battery life and dimensions remain the same. However, the biggest news in the past year was Quick Charge, also known as Adaptive Fast Charging by Samsung or Turbo Charge by Motorola, but it all stems from the same technology made by Qualcomm.
This may sound confusing to the average smartphone and tablet owner, and if so, you’ll want to read up on everything you need to know about Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 technology in simple terms. And why would you want it on your smartphone next year?
Quick Charge 1.0 was introduced in 2013 by Qualcomm, the company that makes the processor that powers most of the popular smartphones and tablets on the market today. It was the first real advancement in battery technology for smartphones. We’ve all read stories about battery technology that will change the world, but none of them have come true on a day-to-day basis or come close to becoming reality.
The new Galaxy Note 5 and most smartphones launched in 2015 feature Quick Charge 2.0 type technology that allows them to charge up to 60% faster than smartphones from just a few years ago, such as the Galaxy S3 or LG G2. Rather than trying to explain everything, the video below will give you a good idea of what to expect from smartphones next year.
Essentially, Quick Charge charges the battery extremely quickly, from 0-80%, lasting only about 35 minutes, then slowly returns to normal charging speeds to preserve battery life. Quick Charge 3.0 will charge phones and tablets faster, at higher levels, and also be more efficient. They have integrated a system that allows the device to request the optimum amount of power to come from a wall, car, battery packs and other chargers to provide the best and fastest possible charge at any given time.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 5 features QC2.0 and goes from 0% to 50% in about 30 minutes and fully charges up to 100% in 90 minutes. That’s extremely fast and far better than the three hours it took to charge the Galaxy Note 2 or Galaxy Note 3.
In 2016, with select Qualcomm processors, smartphones and tablets will charge from 0% to 80% in just 35 minutes, possibly reaching 100% in less than an hour. That’s about 65% faster than traditional chargers, and Qualcomm states that its 3.0 technology does this at a rate 38% more efficient than before. This means less power loss from the charger and cable to your device, providing a faster, stable and safer charging speed than anything we’ve seen so far.
So what does this mean for consumers? This means that as long as they buy a device with some of Qualcomm’s latest processors (which most phones use), they’ll have phones that charge faster than any other device on the planet. The Galaxy Note 5 charges faster than any phone I’ve owned, but next year the devices will be even faster.
Owners will be able to use a device during a busy day at work, then charge it to 100% full after just 15-20 minutes in the car on the way home. This is fast enough to have a phone fully charged before most people get ready in the morning. Giving users more time to enjoy their device and less time to wait for a recharge or worry about a dead battery.
Quick Charge tech has been our favorite feature on smartphones and tablets over the past year, and it’s going to get better and faster in 2016. Battery life complaints will finally be a thing of the past.