USB Type-C, but charging is slow?What you need to know about cable and charging speed
"I heard that the USB Type-C cable has a faster charging speed, but it wasn't charged as much as I expected." "I wanted to charge it in a short time before I left home ...!" Do you have any experience?
Certainly, unlike the USB Type-A (USB Standard A) to USB Type-C cable and USB Type-A to Micro USB (USB Micro B) cable that you are used to, there are USB Type-C connectors on both ends. The USB Type-C to USB Type-C cable has become a hot topic as the power supply has reached a maximum of 100W (currently it supports a maximum of 240W).
However, not all USB Type-C cables support high capacity power supplies. Introducing how to choose a cable that can be charged "as soon as possible".
What is quick charge?
As the name implies, quick charging refers to charging mobile devices such as smartphones in a short time, or such specifications.
As detailed below, any USB Type-A to USB Type-C cable with a number greater than 1.5A (2.0A, 2.1A, etc.) or a USB Type-C cable to USB Type-C cable. For example, the charging standard that supports charging with a value larger than 3A (5A, etc.) corresponds to it.
Doesn't it matter much?Data transfer speed and charging speed
First, there are different versions of the USB standard, including USB Type-C, but you need to be aware that there is no correlation between that version number and the amount of power supplied.
The USB standard is established by an organization called USB-IF (USB Implementers Forum). Currently available USB Type-A is USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 and 3.2 Gen2, and USB Micro B (known as Micro USB) is USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 / 3.1 compliant. there is. USB 2.0 has a maximum data transfer speed of 480 Mbps and a maximum power supply of 0.5 A (2.5 W at 5 V), and USB 3.0 has a maximum of 5 Gbps and 0.9 A (4.5 W at 5 V), respectively.
However, mobile terminals such as smartphones that cannot supply power by themselves have appeared, and a standard called USB Battery Charging Specification (USB BC) has been added in addition to the standard called USB xx. With USB BC 1.2, you can charge with 7.5W (5V / 2.5A) even with the same USB 2.0 standard cable.
In addition, a connector shape called USB Type-C was born, which has the maximum power supply of 5V / 1.5A (7.5W) or 5V / 3A (15W) defined by the standard called USB Type-C Current. I did. So with USB Type-C, 7.5W and 15W are considered "non-rapid" legacy charging speeds.
The USB Type-C Current standard is defined on a different line from the original USB xx standard. For example, even a USB 3.2 Gen2 standard (data transfer speed up to 10 Gbps) cable can have a power supply capacity of up to 7.5 W. Even if a USB Type-C cable that claims high data transfer speed cannot be charged quickly, it is not necessarily a bad product.
A USB Type-C cable purchased from "Seria", one of the 100-yen shops. With USB 2.0, the maximum communication speed is 480 Mbps, but it supports 5V / 3A (15W) power supply."PD compatible" if you choose a USB Type-C cable
As explained at the beginning, it is possible to supply power with a maximum of 100W with a USB Type-C cable. However, it must support "USB Power Deivery (USB PD)".
USB PD is a standard established to further increase the power supply capacity compared to conventional USB. "USB PD Revision 3.0 (USB PD 3.0)", which is often used in recent smartphones, combines a voltage of 5V, 9V, 15V, 20V with a current of up to 3A or up to 5A (in the case of 20V).
[Correction: January 24, 2022 12:00 There was an error in the description of USB PD 3.0 when it first appeared. We apologize for the correction. ]
Based on this, a USB Type-C cable that supports up to 100W can carry up to 20V / 5A of electricity. For USB PD, it is essential to mount an IC chip called "eMarker" on a cable that can carry electricity exceeding 60W (12V / 5A or 20V / 3A). Therefore, a USB Type-C cable that can carry more than 60W of electricity is more expensive than a cable that supports less electricity.
Therefore, it cannot always be said that "it is a USB PD compatible cable, so up to 100W is okay". Even if the cable does not have eMarker, if it is less than 60W, it can be described as "USB PD compatible" on the package. For mobile applications, a cable of less than 60W and an AC adapter can be combined for fast charging.
[Correction: February 10, 2022 13:25 There was an error in the description of eMarker when it first appeared. We apologize for the correction. ]
I see "QC", but ...
If you are looking for a mobile battery on Amazon, you may see the notation "Quick Charge xx". This is a high-speed charging standard developed by Qualcomm, which is often used in Android smartphones. It's not a fake USB PD.
The feature of Quick Charge (QC) is that it can be charged with the optimum voltage and current according to the connected smartphone. Up to QC 3.0, it is a standard completely unrelated to USB PD etc., and it was necessary for both the AC adapter and the device to be charged (smartphone etc.) to support it, but the standard after QC 4 is USB PD. Even if the device does not support QC, it can be charged quickly if it supports USB PD.
There is also a cable that supports both PD and QC standards, so there is no doubt that you should select it.
"RAM POW USB Type C-Type C" is a USB Type-C cable that supports PD and QC.The charging speed is as fast as 60W, but the data transfer speed is as slow as 480Mbps due to the USB 2.0 standard.In addition, there is no QC compatible cable for charging that cannot communicate data at all. This is because with a QC-compatible cable, before starting a large-capacity power supply, the power supply side (charger or mobile battery) and the power supply side (smartphone, etc.) support each other's QC. This is because it is confirmed by data communication whether or not it is present.
I'm charging my smartphone with QC 2.0. The value of 0.67V is also displayed next to "D +" and "D-", indicating that data is being exchanged between devices.There is no such thing as "charging only means that you can charge quickly because the line used for data communication can also be used for charging." It will be cheaper because you can't communicate data, but it's meaningless if you can't use it, so I'd like to research it carefully and buy it.
summary
It's easy to think that a USB Type-C cable will dramatically increase the charging speed, but just because the connector shape is USB Type-C or because the USB xx version is high, the charging speed is not always fast. Not.
Make sure your package is compatible with USB PD or QC, or at least "5V / 3A (15W)".
You also want to make sure that your charger or mobile battery and your smartphone support fast charging.