Qualcomm Quick Charge 3+ Aims For The USB-A Masses

Superfast charging is one of the hot things among smartphone makers these days but, for the longest time ever, the only one offering such a technology was Qualcomm. These days, the chip maker's Quick Charge has largely been overtaken by the likes of OPPO's SuperVOOC or even OnePlus' Warp Charge but those are often only reserved for more expensive, higher-end phones. Qualcomm is now reassuring customers and users of its "mid-range" platforms that they, too, will now reap some fast charging benefits thanks to Quick Charge 3+.

Qualcomm's Quick Charge, which is now at version 4+, has had trouble keeping up with its biggest rivals in this particular field. To be fair, the likes of OPPO, Huawei, and OnePlus only have their own phones to think about and test. Qualcomm Quick Charge, on the other hand, has to take into account all hardware makers, regardless of brand.

Quick Charge 3+ is Qualcomm's way of extending that coverage to other tiers, not just the expensive ones. In particular, it is starting with the Snapdragon 765 and its gaming-oriented 765G twin, with promises of a wider rollout on new Snapdragons in the future. That means, sadly, that existing Snapdragon 600 and even 700 series won't be covered.

That's not surprising considering the additional circuits and hardware needed to support this kind of fast charging process. The good news, on the other hand, is that Qualcomm is aiming to support plain, old USB-A to USB-C connections, meaning it should work even if you don't have a USB-C to USB-C cable or a USB-C power outlet.

Qualcomm Quick Charge 3+ is advertised to charge from 0 to 50% in just 15 minutes but it is also compatible with the existing Quick Charge 4+ already used in higher-end devices. The first commercially available phone to use this new technology is the recently announced Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite Zoom but Qualcomm has yet to clarify whether other existing phones using the Snapdragon 765 can also access this capability.