Qualcomm's Snapdragon 821 is barely out of the assembly lines and yet talks of the upcoming Snapdragon 830 are already persisting in the ether. The most recent detail to have surfaced out of this theme is that the next generation mobile chipset will be outfitted with Quick Charge 4.0 technology.
Quick Charge Leak
The source of this leak is purportedly an accessory manufacturer and has been first referenced by technology outfit Fudzilla. The claim is that Snapdragon 830 will be able to support a maximum of 28W quick charging speed.
To put that figure in context, one can turn to the current Quick Charge 3.0 technology, which is only capable of up to 18W charging speed within the voltage range of 3.2 to 20V in 200mV increments. This technology is known for being able to achieve up to four times charging speed when compared with regular charging due to its efficiency savings and revised charging patterns. Presently, Quick Charge 3.0 is overwhelmingly used by Android flagship devices.
Fast Charging Performance
There is no clarity yet about charging performance, particularly, in comparison to the capabilities of the Quick Charge 3.0, except for the claim that 4.0 can zoom from 0 to 80 percent in no time. The Quick Charge 4.0 is also poised to beat leading charging technologies today, which include OPPO's VOOC and Huawei's proprietary Super Charge. The former can support 20W whereas the proprietary Super Charge offering can cover as much as 22.5W.
Qualcomm's Proprietary Battery Management
Qualcomm is expected to build on its Intelligent Negotiation for Optimum Voltage (INOV) algorithm to optimize the battery charging process, which is credited for the charging efficiency. Indeed, according to Android Authority, Qualcomm seemed to have found a way to transfer larger amounts of power without damaging the battery through a better INOV management.
Qualcomm has touted INOV's ability to determine exact amounts of power that the battery is able to sustain and adjust the transmission level accordingly to avoid overheating. Further development of Qualcomm's Quick Charge technology, however, could suffer a setback if Google will begin requiring manufacturers to adopt its own fast charging standards based on the USB Type-C specifications.
Consumers should be able to enjoy the Quick Charge 4.0 technology when the Snapdragon 830 finally rolls out. The mobile chip is believed to debut in the first quarter of next year. It is expected to power the upcoming flagship devices of leading Android manufacturers. These include the Samsung Galaxy S8, the HTC 11 and OnePlus 4.
