Wireless Fast Charging explained

Hayato Huseman is a part of the Android Central.

Since the first specified, the standard has come a long way. Things that need more power like a laptop are now included in the technology that started as a very slow and wasteful way to charge low-power devices. The kitchen appliances were powered by the Wireless Power Consortium. Wireless fast charging has been the biggest advance for most of us.

A charging standard is called "Qu", which is roughly translated to "spiritual energy". Imagine a group of electrical engineers that really love charging things that need to be charged, working with the smart people who make things that need to be charged. The first version supported wireless power transfer up to 4.999 watt, and it worked by using two coils that send a signal across the gap when they get close to each other. If your phone and coil have the necessary computer logic, it will work.

You had to use a lot of power to create a strong magnetic field in the base that could be used to charge your phone. It charged very slowly. It was more convenient.

The standard has continued to be developed by the folks at the WPC. Adding a medium-power mode that can provide up to 120 watt is one of the ways that they have been working on to make it better.

BPP and EPP

BPP and EPP are the charging specifications that are included in the current certification. They increase the power transfer to 15 watt. That means the power created by the receiver coil improved by 300%, speeding up the charge without either coil getting any hotter.

There are some technical differences between the two, but the basics are the same: EPP wireless charging is faster than BPP wireless charging, and it can be modified to charge even faster while still backwards compatible with older Qi-enabled phones.

You can charge a phone to 50% in 30 minutes or 100% in 90 minutes with the Fast Charge label on it. This is a lot faster than it used to be.

Some phones charge at a different rate. Vendors are allowed to change the standard with their own technology if they still follow the original, and any device with a Qi-enabled transmitter will charge with it. Some tech is added to its best phones and the chargers it builds for them. The custom fast wireless charging system called Warp Charge was built by OnePlus and can rival wired charging times.

The smart parts

The tech inside has to monitor the transfer rate, the temperature, and the amount of charge the battery has. It takes a fair amount of time for things to reach a temperature or charge state where they need to be scaled back, but it will make it there eventually. Reducing the amount of electricity provided is done to protect the battery and electronics inside your phone from getting too hot. When the battery is full, the power is stopped. When things need to change, your phone sends signals to the base.

There is a lot of engineer speech involved. You carry your phone and your battery with you.

• Phone: I need some power!
• Base: OK, I'll start my end. Make sure you stay close enough so the way my coil hums makes your coil hum, too. If I see your coil stop humming I'll turn everything off.
• Phone: Gotcha. Staying close.
• Base: I see that you are using the latest Qi standard, so I'll go full speed ahead until you give the word.
• Phone: OK, I'm getting warm, so scale things back a little.
• Base: OK. Lowering the frequency and pitch of my coil's hum so things don't get any hotter. Let me know when we're done.
• Phone: My battery is full. You can stop now.

Even though things are faster, this has always worked. Changes to the phone and base's resonant circuits allow the phone to have a higher Frequency with less resistance and less radiated energy. The resistance and heat produced are lower in the new version, so more juice can flow from the coil in your phone to the battery without it getting too hot. Everyone who is part of the WPC can use the design to build a compatible or compatible charging accessory.

Everyone involved in the specification follows the letter. After a short term of membership, it is freely available to everyone, even a startup who might not have an extra $20,000 for an annual fee. The full specifications are what you should be looking for when buying a charging device. It will work if your phone and charging base follow the standards for fast charging.

There isn't much to think about for us as consumers. Our phone will charge faster if we use a charging base that is ready to use. If we have a phone with an even faster charging setup from one of the companies, it will be quicker to get there.

Either way, the system is designed to slow down before things get too hot and shut itself off completely once the battery is full. If Fast Charge isn't available, all your devices that use it will charge with any charging base, even if it isn't available. To make sure the right amount of current is available to the charging base, you should use the proper wall plug.