Understand PD protocol fast charging in one minute

Speaking of the fast charge protocol, you may be familiar with Qualcomm’s QC fast charge. As for the USB-PD (full name “USB Power Delivery”) fast charging protocol, you may be unfamiliar with it. Today, let’s learn about the USB-PD fast charging protocol.

1.What is USB-PD fast charging

USB-PD is a fast charging specification formulated by the USB-IF organization and is one of the mainstream fast charging protocols. The USB-PD fast charging protocol is output through the Type-C interface, but it cannot be said that the USB-PD protocol fast charging must be supported with the Type-C interface.

Common PD chargers on the market use Type-C as the output interface

In fact, many mobile phones/notebooks around us have long supported USB-PD fast charging. Since 2017, Apple’s iPhone 8 (Plus) and iPhone X have supported USB PD fast charging, but you need to buy a USB C to Lighting data cable yourself. The Android camp also supports USB PD fast charging since Huawei Mate 10 and Xiaomi MIX 2s in 2017.

2.The PD protocol has obvious advantages of fast charging

The USB-PD fast charging protocol can increase the transmission of power through USB cables and connectors, expand the cable bus power supply capability in USB applications, so as to achieve the purpose of increasing the charging voltage or current, and can freely change the direction of power transmission.

The Type-C interface supports a maximum of 15W (5V/3A) by default, but after implementing the USB-PD protocol, the output power can be supported to a maximum of 100W (20V/5A). Faster transmission speed (up to 10Gbps), etc., so many devices with practical Type-C interface will now support the USB PD protocol.

Comparison of USB PD and QC3.0

Type-C has new features that our common USB-A interface does not have, such as: support for positive and negative insertion, which is also the reason why more and more Android phones and Apple’s Macbook have begun to use the Type-C interface. As for the USB-PD fast charging protocol, the most important feature of using it as an output interface is the maximum power of 100W. Although USB-A under USB3.1 can also do it, the size is too large. Relatively speaking, the Type-C interface has become the mainstream of the times and the best choice for today’s increasingly thin and light electronic devices.

3.Relationship with other charging protocols

The USB-PD protocol and the fast charging protocols of other manufacturers are not the same relationship, but the relationship of inclusion and inclusion. In the PPS (Quick Charge Specification) released by USB-IF, the USB-PD 3.0 protocol already includes Qualcomm QC 3.0 and 4.0, Huawei’s SCP and FCP, and MTK’s PE3.0 and PE2.0.

From the above, we can see the power of the USB-PD protocol, which is also the reason why mobile phones and notebooks have rapidly popularized Type-C interfaces and supported USB-PD fast charging in recent years.