Major mobile phone manufacturers have launched their own fast charging technologies, which work by increasing the charging current and voltage to achieve high-power charging. Simply put, the input power of the charging port = input voltage x input current. Generally, mobile phone chargers have a charging curve, controlling different voltages and currents to achieve the highest charging efficiency. Generally speaking, the most efficient method starts with constant current charging (faster charging speed), followed by constant voltage charging (charging speed decreases because the battery's voltage increases), and finally trickle charging (compensating for capacity loss caused by self-discharge after full charge).
Why do we age?
1. Overcharging and over-discharging
There are many reasons for battery aging. The first is natural aging. Even with normal use, lithium ions will detach from the anode and gradually age, although the aging process is relatively slow. However, overcharging and over-discharging in daily use will accelerate the aging of lithium-ion batteries. Modern mobile phones typically have a rectification and voltage regulation design. When fully charged, the charger disconnects the charging circuit, allowing the phone to be powered directly by the power cord. If the original charger is not used, it may not disconnect the power in time, continuing to charge a fully charged battery. This will accelerate the shedding of lithium ions, damaging the battery and causing it to age. Conversely, when the battery is completely depleted, the freely moving ions will be trapped, also reducing the battery's capacity.
2. Temperature too high/too low
Besides overcharging and over-discharging, excessively high or low battery temperatures can also affect battery life. Frequent battery discharge generates heat, leading to overheating during actual use. Therefore, when playing demanding games or running other power-intensive programs, it's important to pay attention to heat dissipation and control program runtime. Similarly, excessively low temperatures reduce lithium-ion activity, significantly impacting battery and charging performance. Forcing charging at these temperatures will also shorten battery life. Therefore, in extremely cold environments, devices such as mobile phones, laptops, and drones should preheat their batteries to a certain temperature before they can operate normally.
3. Excessive current
In addition, the charging current also affects the battery's lifespan. If the current is too high when the battery is charging, it will cause serious damage to the battery, and may even cause short circuits, explosions, or fires. Original products from manufacturers usually have charging protection circuits to control excessive charging current. However, if some counterfeit desktop chargers or universal chargers do not have protection mechanisms, the consequences can be very serious.
Will fast charging accelerate battery aging? The answer is no.
As mentioned above, fast charging essentially increases the charger's power, boosting current and voltage. Therefore, without proper regulation, this can lead to battery aging. However, aside from the oldest QC1.0 standard, newer fast charging technologies achieve higher voltage fast charging modes through a handshake protocol. For some phones that don't support fast charging, even when using a fast charger, the charger will automatically reduce its charging efficiency to prevent accidents.
Once we understand the principle of fast charging, from a technical perspective, fast charging simply increases the input voltage during charging. Generally, the maximum charging current of a battery is controlled within 6A. QC4.0 maximizes the control of voltage and current, but it is still within a safe range and does not damage the battery.
In summary, current fast charging technology for mobile phones does not accelerate battery aging. On the contrary, the root cause of accelerated battery aging is our poor charging habits.
Most mobile phones now use Qualcomm Quick Charge charging technology, from the initial 1.0 standard to the latest 4.0 standard; the higher the standard, the higher the charging efficiency. QC1.0 broke through the USB-IF protocol related to USB Battery Charge 1.2, increasing the voltage and current to 5V2A, and reducing charging time by 40%. The real improvement in fast charging started with QC2.0. Through a handshake protocol, the charger and the phone can recognize each other, and after the handshake, the transmission voltage is increased, reaching up to 20V. Although the current remains the same, the charging efficiency is improved by nearly 75%.
QC3.0, based on 2.0, introduces the Intelligent No-Voltage Protocol (INOV) algorithm to accurately control the charging voltage. The input voltage can be adaptively adjusted in 200mV increments, resulting in a performance improvement of nearly 38% while reducing losses. With the controllable voltage, the current can be increased to 3A.
