The Inquirer reports that the announcement was made during the 3G LTE Summit in Hong Kong today. Many of this year’s high-end smartphones include Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 2.0 technology, a feature built into the processor that allows the phone to communicate intelligently with a charger and increase the rate of power transfer.
Quick Charge 3.0 will feature up to 45 percent greater efficiency over its predecessor, facilitating the 80 percent in 35 minutes headline figure. Actual charging times will be decreased by up to 27 percent, although the exact duration will vary depending on the size of the battery in each individual phone.
The improvements have been made by creating a new algorithm, Intelligent Negotiation for Optimum Voltage. It allows a device to establish how much power it needs and then request that amount from the charger, instead of accepting a pre-defined voltage limit.
The feature will make it easier than ever to top-up a smartphone to a usable level after just minutes of charging. With developments in battery life and size also progressing at a steady rate, the issue of powering high-energy mobile devices is beginning to be solved.
Quick Charge 3.0 will be available on several of Qualcomm’s new processors, the 820, 620, 618, 617 and 430. These chips will begin to find homes inside next-generation handsets early next year.
Qualcomm has now revealed details of two of the supported processors, the Snapdragon 617 and 430. Primarily for budget devices, they make previously high-end features available on cheaper phones too.
The 617 includes upgraded 4G LTE compatibility providing 300Mbps download and 100Mbps upload speeds while supporting cameras of up to 21MP in resolution. The 430 now has support for low power sensors that can operate without consuming battery. It also features advanced audio processors.
Both chips have eight cores for speedy performance but will live in the shadow of Qualcomm’s new flagship processor, the Snapdragon 820. Full details have yet to be unveiled of this mobile powerhouse but Qualcomm is letting out tantalizing glimpses of the technology it will feature. This includes built-in malware protection, machine learning and support for all the new chipset capabilities unveiled today, including Quick Charge 3.0.
