Qualcomm Delivers Quick Charge Tech To Energize Qi Wireless Charging Pads

Qualcomm on Monday announced at Mobile World Congress (MWC) that it is extending its proprietary Quick Charge compliance program to wireless. Furthermore, Qualcomm is not trying to replace Qi as the industry standard. Instead, the compliance program will ensure Quick Charge and Qi interoperability, the company says.

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"Qualcomm Technologies is proud to expand the Quick Charge compliance program to include Qi interoperability, as it will give consumers peace of mind that their Quick Charge enabled wireless charging pad has passed the rigorous tests established by both organizations. Further, we are pleased that Xiaomi, a longtime supporter of Quick Charge technology, has become the first company to deploy a compliant wireless power pad," said George Paparrizos, senior director, product management, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.

On the surface, Qualcomm's angle is that it wants to address the shortcomings of wireless charging. The company points out that though wireless charging is now popular, the speed and efficiency of wireless charging products remains inconsistent.

Qualcomm is not wrong in that regard, though obviously it has a financial incentive to license its Quick Charging technology. As part of Qualcomm's expanded compliancy program, additional testing will take place to ensure Quick Charge and Qi interoperability.

"Wireless charging products have been introduced that claim Quick Charge support, when they have not passed through the required Quick Charge compliance process. In response to these issues, Qualcomm Technologies has expanded its compliancy program to include wireless charging pads powered by Quick Charge technology," Qualcomm says.

What this ultimately means for consumers, or so we hope, is that more reliable wireless charging pads will emerge. Consumers in the market for a wireless charging pad can look for the same Quick Charge branding.

That said, Qualcomm has not mentioned what kinds of wireless charging speeds we will see out of Quick Charge-certified wireless charging pads. For now, it seems safety and reliability are at the forefront of Qualcomm's mind with this expansion.