Processors, RAM, Screen, are always the first features advertised when buying a phone, but in the end how long the battery lasts and how long it recharges "> smartphones with more powerful battery that lasts longer, in this we speak instead of charging Quick, the Quick Charge, which is one of the most important functions of modern phones.
This applies to cell phones with a battery that lasts longer, because it does not take too many hours to recharge them and, above all, applies to those that last less, so that it is possible to give fast recharges even using a portable charger.
Not everyone knows that fast charging is a function present in many cell phones, even 3 or 4 years old, which is advertised with a different name depending on the manufacturer; we can in fact find names like Adaptive Fast Charging (Samsung), Quick Charge (Qualcomm), Dash Charge (OnePlus) just to mention the most important.
In explaining how fast charging works on Android smartphones and iPhones, we also see how to get a quick charge on almost every device .
First of all, let's see in an ultra synthetic way how the battery charging works .
We know (as we can read in any scientific guide) that the smartphone battery supplies energy using chemical reactions and lithium ions.
In rechargeable batteries, the reactions are reversible therefore, when the battery is discharged the chemical reaction produces electricity, while when the battery is recharged the chemical reactions absorb energy.
Smartphone batteries are recharged when current passes, the higher the voltage (measured in volts), the faster the recharge of the batteries, but up to a certain limit imposed by the charge controller or charge regulator that protects the battery from peaks current.
The controller chip regulates the general flow of electricity into and out of the battery.
In general, lithium ion controllers define the current (measured in amperes) at which the battery charges, measuring the battery's current and voltage and adjusting the current flowing.
Some controllers use a converter to change the input voltage while more elaborate integrated circuits regulate the resistance between the charger input and the battery terminal to increase or decrease the current flow.
What is important to know is that the electrical power (measured in Watts) of the chargers is different depending on the technology used (i.e. depending on the USB cable used) and that the amount of current absorbed by the charge controller is generally regulated by the software phone.
Keep in mind that the power in watts is obtained from the multiplication between Volt and Ampere.
A typical USB 1.0 and 2.0 socket can supply up to 5 V for 0.5 A = 2.5 W.
the USB 3.0 ports instead push a power of 5V for 0.9A = 4.5 W.
USB-C, the oval-shaped plug of some more expensive smartphones, is often a USB 3.1 which, potentially, can provide a much higher voltage using the USB Power Delivery (USB-PD) specifications.
The maximum power is 20V / 5A = 100W.
So, with the voltage measured in volts, the current in amperes and the maximum power in watts, we can summarize that:
USB 1.0: 5V - 0.5A - 2.5W
USB 2.0: 5V - 0.5A - 2.5W
USB 3.0: 5V - 0.5A / 0.9A - 4.5W
USB 3.1 (USB-C + USB-PD): 5V – 20V - 0.5A / 0.9A / 1.5A / 3A / 5A - 100W
More complicated are the battery charging specifications, which specifically refer to the power taken from a USB port for charging.
The most recent specification, BC 1.1, defines three different power sources: Standard downstream port (SDP), charging downstream port (CDP) and dedicated charging port (DCP) .
CDP, which is the specification of modern smartphones, laptops and other hardware devices, can supply up to 1.5 A.
More technical details (and more precise than what I have summarized here) on how USB charging works are in this technical article.
Let's go to the point more and find out what it takes to have fast charging on each smartphone.
To take advantage of fast charging, however, it is necessary first of all to have an iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus or iPhone X and then a USB-PD charger that Apple does not put in the packaging of its phones and that must be purchased separately.
The standard charger offers 5 watts of power and is very slow (only charging via USB port on the computer is slower).
you can therefore buy an Anker USB-C charger (better than the Apple charger) to have Quick Charge 3.0 quick charge on the iPhone.
You should also use Apple's Lightning cable or Anker's.
Those with an iPhone 6 or 6 Plus can recharge faster using the iPad charger which provides 12 Watts of power.
Most phones can charge up to 50-60% in less than half an hour, which is a real relief when you need to charge your phone mid-day.
Each company, however, has a different version of the quick charge technology, with some being faster, others slower but also with lower heat generation.
One of the most important and common fast charging standards is that of phones with Qualcomm processor (like the whole Snapdragon series).
The latest version of Quick Charge 4 can recharge smartphones up to 50% in just 15 minutes.
Quick Charge 3.0 rises to 50 percent capacity in half an hour and just over an hour to reach 100 percent.
Quick Charge 2.0 is 60% faster than standard charging while Quick Charge 1.0 is 30% faster.
On many older smartphones with a Qualcomm processor, the Quick Charge 1.0 or 2.0 version may be present, although not specifically indicated, which will not be as efficient as the latest versions, but are still fast.
For example, I discovered by writing this article that my old Nexus 5 supports Quick Charge 1.0 and it recharges faster if I use the right charger.
Unlike iPhones, if fast charging is advertised for a smartphone, then the supplied charger should suffice.
You can still buy a suitable charger, making sure it is compatible with the used phone (otherwise charging will be slow).
In addition, the cable you use to connect chargers and smartphones will also need to support fast charging.
Given the confusion that the various brands have created with fast chargers, in order not to make a mistake, the Anker Quick Charge 3.0 charger should work, which certainly works with Samsung, Google, HTC or LG phones (not Huawei and Oneplus).
The cable must also be purchased separately and you can take this Anker Powerline cable for 7 Euros.
Chargers and Anker cable can also work with phones that are not Quick Charge 3.0, although to confirm it is necessary to do a test or check in the forums.
On Android, you can measure the charging power of the charger with the Ampere app or with AccuBattery.
With all this, whatever the device and the charger used, the suggestions to increase the charging speed of the mobile phone smartphone or iPhone battery still apply
This applies to cell phones with a battery that lasts longer, because it does not take too many hours to recharge them and, above all, applies to those that last less, so that it is possible to give fast recharges even using a portable charger.
Not everyone knows that fast charging is a function present in many cell phones, even 3 or 4 years old, which is advertised with a different name depending on the manufacturer; we can in fact find names like Adaptive Fast Charging (Samsung), Quick Charge (Qualcomm), Dash Charge (OnePlus) just to mention the most important.
In explaining how fast charging works on Android smartphones and iPhones, we also see how to get a quick charge on almost every device .
First of all, let's see in an ultra synthetic way how the battery charging works .
We know (as we can read in any scientific guide) that the smartphone battery supplies energy using chemical reactions and lithium ions.
In rechargeable batteries, the reactions are reversible therefore, when the battery is discharged the chemical reaction produces electricity, while when the battery is recharged the chemical reactions absorb energy.
Smartphone batteries are recharged when current passes, the higher the voltage (measured in volts), the faster the recharge of the batteries, but up to a certain limit imposed by the charge controller or charge regulator that protects the battery from peaks current.
The controller chip regulates the general flow of electricity into and out of the battery.
In general, lithium ion controllers define the current (measured in amperes) at which the battery charges, measuring the battery's current and voltage and adjusting the current flowing.
Some controllers use a converter to change the input voltage while more elaborate integrated circuits regulate the resistance between the charger input and the battery terminal to increase or decrease the current flow.
What is important to know is that the electrical power (measured in Watts) of the chargers is different depending on the technology used (i.e. depending on the USB cable used) and that the amount of current absorbed by the charge controller is generally regulated by the software phone.
Keep in mind that the power in watts is obtained from the multiplication between Volt and Ampere.
A typical USB 1.0 and 2.0 socket can supply up to 5 V for 0.5 A = 2.5 W.
the USB 3.0 ports instead push a power of 5V for 0.9A = 4.5 W.
USB-C, the oval-shaped plug of some more expensive smartphones, is often a USB 3.1 which, potentially, can provide a much higher voltage using the USB Power Delivery (USB-PD) specifications.
The maximum power is 20V / 5A = 100W.
So, with the voltage measured in volts, the current in amperes and the maximum power in watts, we can summarize that:
USB 1.0: 5V - 0.5A - 2.5W
USB 2.0: 5V - 0.5A - 2.5W
USB 3.0: 5V - 0.5A / 0.9A - 4.5W
USB 3.1 (USB-C + USB-PD): 5V – 20V - 0.5A / 0.9A / 1.5A / 3A / 5A - 100W
More complicated are the battery charging specifications, which specifically refer to the power taken from a USB port for charging.
The most recent specification, BC 1.1, defines three different power sources: Standard downstream port (SDP), charging downstream port (CDP) and dedicated charging port (DCP) .
CDP, which is the specification of modern smartphones, laptops and other hardware devices, can supply up to 1.5 A.
More technical details (and more precise than what I have summarized here) on how USB charging works are in this technical article.
Let's go to the point more and find out what it takes to have fast charging on each smartphone.
Fast charging on Apple iPhone
The quick charge of the iPhone is USB-PD 14.5V 2A with maximum power of 29WTo take advantage of fast charging, however, it is necessary first of all to have an iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus or iPhone X and then a USB-PD charger that Apple does not put in the packaging of its phones and that must be purchased separately.
The standard charger offers 5 watts of power and is very slow (only charging via USB port on the computer is slower).
you can therefore buy an Anker USB-C charger (better than the Apple charger) to have Quick Charge 3.0 quick charge on the iPhone.
You should also use Apple's Lightning cable or Anker's.
Those with an iPhone 6 or 6 Plus can recharge faster using the iPad charger which provides 12 Watts of power.
Fast charging Android smartphones
The new Android phones support fast charging technology that can charge the battery faster.Most phones can charge up to 50-60% in less than half an hour, which is a real relief when you need to charge your phone mid-day.
Each company, however, has a different version of the quick charge technology, with some being faster, others slower but also with lower heat generation.
One of the most important and common fast charging standards is that of phones with Qualcomm processor (like the whole Snapdragon series).
The latest version of Quick Charge 4 can recharge smartphones up to 50% in just 15 minutes.
Quick Charge 3.0 rises to 50 percent capacity in half an hour and just over an hour to reach 100 percent.
Quick Charge 2.0 is 60% faster than standard charging while Quick Charge 1.0 is 30% faster.
On many older smartphones with a Qualcomm processor, the Quick Charge 1.0 or 2.0 version may be present, although not specifically indicated, which will not be as efficient as the latest versions, but are still fast.
For example, I discovered by writing this article that my old Nexus 5 supports Quick Charge 1.0 and it recharges faster if I use the right charger.
Unlike iPhones, if fast charging is advertised for a smartphone, then the supplied charger should suffice.
You can still buy a suitable charger, making sure it is compatible with the used phone (otherwise charging will be slow).
In addition, the cable you use to connect chargers and smartphones will also need to support fast charging.
Given the confusion that the various brands have created with fast chargers, in order not to make a mistake, the Anker Quick Charge 3.0 charger should work, which certainly works with Samsung, Google, HTC or LG phones (not Huawei and Oneplus).
The cable must also be purchased separately and you can take this Anker Powerline cable for 7 Euros.
Chargers and Anker cable can also work with phones that are not Quick Charge 3.0, although to confirm it is necessary to do a test or check in the forums.
On Android, you can measure the charging power of the charger with the Ampere app or with AccuBattery.
With all this, whatever the device and the charger used, the suggestions to increase the charging speed of the mobile phone smartphone or iPhone battery still apply
