What is fast charging?

Have you ever wondered why a cellphone doesn’t support fast charging after changing the charger? To explain this, we have to start with "What is fast charging ".

In consideration of technical protection, it is difficult to agree on charging protocols among different mobile phone brands, which also leads to the fact that chargers cannot be mixed. In order to avoid damage to mobile phones due to wrong charging schemes, various charging protocols have been developed.

PD protocol

The PD protocol refers to the USB-PD protocol, which is a fast charging protocol proposed by the USB-IF organization. The full name is USB Power Delivery, which can theoretically reach 100W. It is widely use in laptops and other devices, in addition to mobile phones. As you can see charging cable have USB interface at the end, That all fast charging protocol should follow the PD protocol, no matter it is Apple's lighting or type-C,

QC protocol

The Qualcomm QC fast charging protocol is a fast charging technology developed by the well-known company Qualcomm for the Snapdragon processor. The full name is QuickCharge. Because its leadership in mobile phone chips, Qualcomm has integrated the fast charging protocol in its own chip, but many mobile phones with non-Qualcomm processors can also support the QC fast charging protocol, because the PD fast charging protocol is compatible with the QC protocol.

Data cable

PE protocol

The PE protocol was launched by MediaTek, the full name is PumpExpress, which is characterized by allowing the charger to determine the initial voltage required for charging according to the current. The PE protocol is rarely supported by mobile phones except Meizu.

VOOC Fast Charging protocol

VOOC is a fast charging protocol developed by OPPO and was first used on OPPO Find7. VOOC adopts a low-voltage and high-current solution, the protocol requires customized adapters and batteries. In compared with other solutions, the charging power is higher, and the conversion rate reaches 95%.

SCP/FCP Fast Charging

Both SCP (SuperChargeProtocol) and FCP(FastChargerProtocol) are Huawei's own protocols.

The FCP protocol born in the early days adopts a high-voltage and low-current solution. While SCP protocol adopts a low-voltage and high-current solution similar to OPPO. The advantage of SCP protocol is to increase power while reducing heat generation.

On the basis of SCP, Huawei reduces the charging voltage to about 5V and increasing the current from 4A to 8A achieved 40W superfast charging.

FlashCharge protocol

FlashCharge refers to the fast charging technology adopted by vivo, which is currently mainly used in vivo mobile phones. Like other fast charging technologies, it can achieve shorter charging time through higher charging power. Due to the exclusive protocol used on the chip side, it cannot be used in other cellphone brands or charging heads. The FlashCharge protocol is also one of the fastest charging technologies in the industry.

USB data cable

MIChargeTurbo Flash Charge

MIChargeTurbo flash charging technology is launched by Xiaomi, it is suitable for Xiaomi and Redmi phones. Like other agreements, it is also necessary to use the original charger and data cable. Only the original Xiaomi data cable support this high-power fast charging. However, Those Xiaomi phones with Qualcomm Snapdragon processors have good support for Qualcomm QC fast charging protocol.

Charging protocols are complicated and indistinguishable for ordinary users, You need hardware support to enjoy the convenience of fast charging, It is hoped that the charging protocol can be unified in the future, and bring more convenience to mobile phone users.