Understanding Different Charging Protocols

By Anan Sadh - There are many different types of fast charging protocols such as OPPO’s open VOOC Flash Charge,  OnePlus WARP / Dash , Realme DART charge, Qualcomm’s Quick Charge fast charging & PPS / PD Fast Charging. Some of these are proprietory ( Flash, Dash, Warp, Dart, VooC) & QC,while some are open platforms ( PD & PPS)

Nowadays, smart phones have quick charging between 18W to 65W power, with charge times going from 30 minutes to a little more than 60 minutes. Let’s broadly understand the differences.

1. Qualcomm’s Quick Charge QC3.0 / 4.0

Qualcomm’s QC Quick Charge is very familiar today & it is a representative of high-voltage fast charge. It was first launched in 2013 when the highest power was 10W (5V/2A). By QC 3.0, the power increased to 36W, & now it supports 200mV step voltage regulation, which is no longer a fixed set of voltage & current. QC 4 supports step voltage regulation down to 20mV and a current adjustment of 50mA. Moreover, it also supports USB PD+PPS.

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2. PD Fast Charging

PD fast charging delivers up to 100W& is suitable for all types of devices beyond smart phones, including laptops, as they have a USB-C port. This is currently the most extensive charging protocol.

Currently, there are commonly USB PD 2.0, USB PD 3.0, & USB PD 3.0 (PPS), the former two belong to high-voltage fast charging, and the PPS of the latter belongs to a branch of PD 3.0, which is known as Programmable Power Supply. It incorporates Qualcomm QC, FCP, VOOC, & other fast charging protocols, supporting 20mV and 50mA step adjustments more accurately.

Apple iPhones from the iPhone 8 through the iPhone 14 models imply USB-PD, the same industry standard used by the iPad Pro, the 12-inch MacBook, Google’s Chromebook Pixel, & Lenovo’s X1 Carbon.

USB-PD is an open platform and is rapidly being adopted by many manufacturers. 

3. Open VOOC Technology

Oppo has licensed the Open VOOC technology to various brands & it has been marketed under various names. Example OnePlus Dash &  Warp Charging works only with OnePlus phones, well-matched wall adapters & cables. Warp Charge cables are slightly thicker to accommodate the extra heat being generated. It’s based on Oppo’s VOOC (Voltage Open Multi-Step Constant-Current Charging) system and is a star feature in the OnePlus 6T and every other OnePlus phone back to the OnePlus 3. Oppo has also developed the much faster Super VOOC, but it’s only available in a handful of phones like the Oppo RX17 Pro. Vivo. 

4. Huawei SuperCharge

SuperCharge, Huawei’s proprietary charging standard, is built into phones like the Huawei P40 Pro, Huawei P30 Pro, Huawei Mate 20 Pro, and the Huawei P10. It’s a bit like Quick Charge in that it uses higher-than-average voltages to get faster charging.

COMPARISON BETWEEN PPS, PD, QC, DASH, WARP AND VOOC