Fast Charging: USB Power Delivery, SuperVOOC, FlashCharge, HyperCharge, Explained in Easy Terms

What is fast charging in mobile phones? As the name implies, it is any type of high-speed battery-charging system implemented in a mobile phone to reduce the time it takes to fill up the battery. With regular charging, sometimes it takes a whole of three hours to charge up a phone fully. High-speed charging solutions cut that time down dramatically.

There are different solutions in the market, with many manufacturers often developing their own proprietary system and going by a unique brand name. But whatever the specifics of these solutions, they all work by a broad principle. Note also that apart from the custom solutions by each brand, there are industry standard charging solutions that some brands have adopted.

How Fast Charging Works

Fast charging in mobile phones works by pumping extra electrical charges into the phone, usually in two phases. The first phase happens between 0 and 80%, approximately, and happens much faster than the second phase.

The second phase is slower for safety reasons, because it is a critical period when the battery already has a lot of charge and is less stable. This means, accidents can happen if charging continues at the initial speed, so designers build the charging solution to slow down here. That is why your phone takes much longer to go from 80% battery to 100% than you’d like. But it is for your safety.

That is also the reason why some phones stop charging at 80% under certain conditions e.g. if the weather is hot. The in-built fail-safe system cuts off charging to keep the phone cool and stable.

Different Fast Charging Technologies from different phone makers

There are different proprietary fast charging systems by different phone brands and they are not generally compatible with one another. For example, a fast charger from Samsung may not be fully compatible with one from Google Pixel. Let’s explore the different types.

Quick Charge by Qualcomm

Qualcomm’s fast charging solution is called Quick Charge. The latest iteration, Quick Charge 5.0 tops up compatible devices from 0-100% in 15 minutes. Any phone brand can license this solution for use in their products that are powered by a compatible Snapdragon chipset.

MediaTek Pump Express

Pump Express is MediaTek’s answer to Qualcomm’s Quick Charge. It is specific to smartphones powered by a compatible MediaTek chipset.

USB Power Delivery

USB Power Delivery is an industry standard charging protocol designed for both cellphones and laptops. If your phone has a USB-C port and supports USB-PD, you are not limited to using your phone’s fast charger but can also use compatible 3rd party chargers to top up your battery quickly.

USB Power Delivery 3.0 is capable of delivering up to 100W charge, though most cellphone brands have not maxed it out to its fullest capacity yet. While your smartphone does not need this much power, laptops and other devices do. Remember, we mentioned earlier that this is an industry-wide quick charging solution for USB devices, whether they are phones, tablets, laptops, etc. Samsung has utilized USB-PD 3.0 to deliver 45W in the S24 Ultra.

In addition to their proprietary charging solutions, many phone makers include USB Power Delivery support in their devices, such that any phone from another brand that supports PD can take advantage of its fast charging capabilities.

Charging in Samsung Phones

Samsung does not have a proprietary charging solution. Instead it uses an available industry solution called USB Power Delivery (discussed above). Most mid-range and premium flagship Samsung smartphones have a mere 25W charging based on PD. The company’s fastest charging solution is a 45W charger that can do 0-70% charge in 30 minutes, as seen in the Galaxy S24 Ultra. This charging system is based on Power Delivery 3.0.

Charging in Google Pixel Phones

Like Samsung, Google Pixel phones do not have a proprietary charging solution and also uses the universal Power Delivery technology.

Charging in iPhones

Third time is a charm, because rather than develop a proprietary charging solution, Apple also simply uses USB Power Delivery. The iPhone 16 Pro Max uses PD 2.0 which charges the battery up to 50% in 30 minutes.

if you ever were bothered that Samsung phones, iPhones, and Pixel phones have the slowest charging speeds in the industry, you now know that it is because they use USB Power Delivery. Of course, for some reason, they are not squeezing out the fastest possible speeds out of it. So, the ball still stops at their desks.

SuperVOOC by OPPO

OPPO’s charging solution is called SuperVOOC. Their 150W SuperVOOC solution charges a 4,500mAh battery from 0-50% in just 5 minutes, and 0-100% in just 15 minutes, while their new 240W SuperVOOC solution does 0-100% in a mere 9 minutes.

FlashCharge by Infinix

Infinix‘s fast charging solution is called FlashCharge. The company’s 160W charger has demonstrated taking the phone battery from 0% to 100% in 10 minutes.

HyperCharge by Xiaomi

Xiaomi’s charging technology is branded HyperCharge. The 120W HyperCharge charger takes about 20 minutes to fill up a battery.

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