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Why some Android phones can charge so much faster than Apple's iPhone

Why some Android phones can charge so much faster than Apple's iPhone

There's hope that Apple's upcoming iPhones will feature quick charging, as rumors suggest that Apple will be adding it.

It's possible to charge an iPhone faster with an iPad charger than using the included iPhone charger, but it's still not as fast as Qualcomm's Quick Charge.

An iPad charger outputs 5.1 volts at 2.1 amps, which makes for a 10 watt output that's faster than the iPhone charger's 5 watts. Still, it's not as fast as a Quick Charger's 15-20 watts.

Assuming that Apple will continue to use its own "A" chips in future iPhones, Apple would have to develop its own quick charging technology. So far, it hasn't added any special quick charging feature to its chips or iPhones.

Apple's iPhones don't have Qualcomm's Quick Charge feature because they don't run on Qualcomm chips. They run on Apple's own "A" chips, like the iPhone 7's A10 chip.

But not all Android phones with Qualcomm chips have quick charging.

Only certain models of Qualcomm's Snapdragon processors support Quick Charge, and those processors are usually the higher-end chips that you'd find on premium flagship devices. Qualcomm has a list of phones that come with Quick Charge chips, which you can find here.

And a lot of Android smartphone makers use Qualcomm chips in their phones, so they can benefit from Qualcomm's Quick Charge technology.

"Quick Charge" is a technology that was developed by chip maker Qualcomm, which the company adds to certain models of its chips.

Qualcomm's Quick Charge tech is different from regular charging in that it uses a different combination of voltage and amps to provide a higher wattage – and therefore faster charging.

Whereas the iPhone's regular charger outputs 5 volts at 1 amp for a total of 5 amps, a Quick Charger can output 9 volts at 1.67 amps, making for 15 amps. Some quick chargers even go up to 12 volts at 1.67 amps, making for a fast 20 watts that's incredibly fast for a mobile device.

Where Qualcomm's chips come into the equation is the management of that charge to keep within a battery's safety threshold.

You might see the words "Quick Charge" or some other variation in an Android phone's marketing material or inscribed on its charger.

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