Months after the announcement of Quick Charge 3+ for premium mid-range devices, Qualcomm has announced a quick charging solution for flagship devices – Quick Charge 5. It’s the long-awaited successor to 2017’s Quick Charge 4 and offers a more efficient charging process. Read along to learn more about Qualcomm’s new Quick Charge 5.
Qualcomm Quick Charge 5 Overview
Lately, smartphone companies have gone crazy regarding charging speed. We now have smartphone companies boasting about charging speed of 100W and even higher. Qualcomm has joined the “triple-digit fast charging” bandwagon with the announcement of Quick Charge 5, which supports charging speed greater than 100W. However, Quick Charge 5 will be available for smartphone manufacturers to implement them in their flagship devices, making it the fastest commercial charging technology for Android smartphones.
Performance and Efficiency
Compared to its predecessor, Quick Charge 5 is four times faster. Qualcomm claims its latest quick charging solution can charge a 4,500mAh battery from 0 to 50% in five minutes. Similarly, it can charge the device completely within 15 minutes. Quick Charge 5 is 70% more efficient and up to 10-degree Celcius cooler than QC 4/4+.
The charging speed is true in case of a 2S (or 2SnP) battery configuration in which two cells are stacked in a series combination. The dual battery configuration will help Qualcomm double the voltage and speed. For a single cell battery (1S or 1SnP), the peak power is limited between 45W and 50W.
Qualcomm has announced two new PMICs that support both 1SnP and 2SnP batteries – Qualcomm SMB1396 and Qualcomm SMB1398. The ICs support 20V input voltage for both 1S and 2S batteries. They are also compatible with wired and wireless charging.
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Protection
QC 5 supports Smart Identification of Adapter Technologies. The company says that accessory manufacturers often misguide consumers with inaccurate ratings. Thus, QC 5 won’t rely on the information provided and will instead identify the capabilities on its own and adjust the charging behavior accordingly. QC 5 compatible devices will also come with 17 different levels of protection (e.g: voltage, current, thermal, timer, etc.).
Quick Charging 5 Accessories
QC 5 accessories will have to provide a minimum output of 20V. These accessories are backward compatible with QC 2.0, 3.2, 4, and 4+. QC 5 chargers can also be used to charge USB-PD compatible devices. Thus, QC 5 adapters can also be used to charge iPhone 7 and newer iPhones.
QC 5 is based on USB PD-PPS protocol, which means you may not need to buy a separate QC 5 charger. Any charger that supports PD-PPS will be enough to charge your QC 5 compatible device at QC 5 speeds, given it comes with voltage and current ratings.
Qualcomm Quick Charge 5 Availability
Qualcomm has announced that we can expect the first phone with Quick Charge 5 capabilities to launch in the Q3 of 2020. Snapdragon 865 / 865+ and future high-end Snapdragon chipsets will be able to make use of this fast charging technology. Xiaomi has also confirmed that devices with QC 5 are in the company’s pipeline.
| Fast Charging Solution | Availability |
| Qualcomm Quick Charge 5 | Q3 2020 |
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