Newsletter
Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 4+ is up to 15 percent faster than Quick Charge 4, making this the speediest charging standard to come from the company yet. Qualcomm notes that Quick Charge 4+ is meant for device and accessory OEMs who want to add in all the features of Quick Charge 4 but receive some extra beneficial features. According to Qualcomm there are three benefits of Quick Charge 4+ over the standard Quick Charge 4. The breakdown of these improvements is faster charging, more efficiency, and charging while maintaining a cooler temperature. The specifics of these benefits are the up to 15 percent faster charging that was mentioned above, as well as up to 30 percent more efficiency, and charging while maintaining a temperature that is up to 3 degrees Celsius cooler than with Quick Charge 4.
From a more technical standpoint Qualcomm details the three enhancements that are included with this new charging standard in regards to mobile devices, though Qualcomm also mentions that accessories will also be able to support this new technology. The first of these enhancements is Dual Charge which not only allows for the device to charge faster than before, but it’s also designed to help reduce the amount of thermal dissipation by dividing up the charge current. Qualcomm makes this possible by integrating a second power management IC within the device.
To help things run cooler while charging Qualcomm has implemented an intelligence-based technology into Dual Charge called Intelligent Thermal Balancing, which allows the charge current to seek out the path with the lowest temperature so that power delivery to the device stays cooler and won’t affect performance of the charge. This helps to optimize the charging process and aids in keeping things running at a cooler temperature so the device won’t get as warm. The last enhancement that Qualcomm has made with Quick Charge 4+ revolves around improved safety. While focused mainly on preventing the charger from short circuiting and overheating, the improved safety features of Quick Charge 4+ also helps to prevent damage to USB Type-C connectors by simultaneously monitoring the temperature levels of the case and the connector. Qualcomm doesn’t mention when consumers can expect to see smartphones and accessories that support Quick Charge 4+, but they do highlight that the Nubia Z17 is the first smartphone to support this technology, a device which Nubia announced earlier today.
