Two common refrains with wireless charging are that it's too slow and extremely inconsistent depending on the combination of phone and charging pad you're working with. Qualcomm is aiming to fix these problems with the announcement that it is going all-in on Qi wireless charging, and will begin certifying wireless charging pads that adhere to the Quick Charge standard.
It's inarguable that Qualcomm's Quick Charge standard has pushed the industry forward with standardized fast charging, particularly in the early years of Android. And it still remains the lowest common denominator of cross-manufacturer compatibility — most people know the Quick Charge, and it's easy to identify when your device and the charger you're using support it. (That is, at least for the near future until more manufacturers get on board with supporting USB-C PD.)
Qualcomm will hopefully bring clarity and consistency to wireless charging just like it did with wired.
Now Qualcomm is hoping to bring the same easy-to-understand clarity and cross compatibility to wireless charging. Quick Charge compliant charging pads will go through the same level of testing that every wired Quick Charge adapter does, and will certify that it operates within the capabilities of the wall adapter for fast and safe charging. Qualcomm has noticed a large number of wireless charging pads that incorrectly claim Quick Charge compatibility, and this certification program should help rectify those issues — Qualcomm also works with retailers to identify and remove listings for incompatible devices that use Quick Charge branding. George Paparrizos, senior director of product management at Qualcomm:
Qualcomm Technologies is proud to expand the Quick Charge compliance program to include Qi interoperability, as it will give consumers peace of mind that their Quick Charge enabled wireless charging pad has passed the rigorous tests established by both organizations.
Xiaomi is the first manufacturer to announce a Qi wireless charging pad with Quick Charge certification, with output of 20W and a claimed 0-100% charge of a 3300mAh battery in 90 minutes. That's ridiculously fast, and finally starts to put wireless charging speeds on par with what we expect from the latest wired speeds.
Wireless charging is going to start getting faster, and more consistent across chargers and phones.
The Galaxy S10 series supports Samsung's new Fast Wireless Charging 2.0 system, which ups its output — so long as you're using a new charger — to 12W, which is still respectable and much faster than what most people are wirelessly charging at. It isn't clear what, if any, synergies there are between what Samsung and Qualcomm will certify as being compliant with each other's fast wireless charging programs.
But this certification process isn't only for new charging pads. Qualcomm will also certify older devices to make sure that they're safely charging even at lower speeds. Qualcomm says it will be able to certify backward compatibility all the way to pads that use Quick Charge 2.0 wall adapters, which won't offer the crazy 20W speeds of Quick Charge 4+ but will at least provide the peace of mind that you're buying a wireless charging pad that's both safe and operating properly for your phone. Qualcomm maintains a list of compatible Quick Charge devices, and will be updating it with charging pads that it certifies.
Press release:
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