What is Quick Charge? How does Qualcomm’s fast charging protocol work?

With smartphone battery capacities increasing alongside the introduction of more power-hungry hardware, fast charging on modern-day smartphones has become a feature most of us take for granted. Many Android devices these days can be fully charged up within an hour or less. And while we have several competing fast-charging protocols in the industry today, Quick Charge was and still is among the most widely used of them all.

In the context of modern handheld smartphones, Quick Charge refers to a power management technology developed by Qualcomm. It’s supported by all Snapdragon SoCs dating back to 2013, although it’s up to device manufacturers to implement. Over the years, however, Quick Charge has seen numerous changes and revisions — some more impactful than others.