charging

As removable batteries become a thing of the past, consumers, and even manufacturers, are left with a few fixes to address battery anxiety, from larger batteries in fatter phones, to power banks, to fast charging technologies. That last one, however, might soon be a rather complicated matter on Android. In the updated Android Compatibility Definition Document, Google is discouraging the use of non-standard third-party quick charging technologies for USB Type-C devices, even suggesting that, in the future, those might be completely banned from the platform.

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Apple's attitude towards smartphone batteries is ambiguous at best, even comical at one point. While iPhones are arguably more battery efficient than their Android counterparts, they still leave much to be desired. And when users clamored for a better battery, Apple responded by putting out a highly criticized battery pack. It seems that with the iPhone 7, Apple will be going around the issue again but with a compromise. According to a leak, the iPhone 7 will, at least, get faster charging speeds.

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Despite advancements in mobile technologies, like processors, data storage, or displays, one component that remains practically unchanged is the battery. In the absence of better battery technologies, consumers and manufacturers are left to tricks that lessen the charging time instead. Fast charging technologies, and there are quite a number of them, have become en vogue in more recent smartphones, and one of the newest challengers is OnePlus' own DASH Charge. But just because it's new and relatively untested doesn't mean it isn't going to fly, as this video, which pits the OnePlus 3 against the Galaxy S7, tries to prove.

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Until that day in the future when smartphones are safely powered by nuclear energy or whatnot, charging mobile devices will always be a fact of life. Various technologies and products, like wireless charging, are being put in place to at least make that as painless as possible. Fancy and ideal as that might sound, wireless charging is still fragmented and inefficient. Enter FLI Charge, a system that aims to leapfrog over the competition, embracing all types of devices and power needs. All through the proven technology of conductive wireless charging.

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OnePlus execs seem to like living on the edge just to prove a point. Company CEO Pete Lau has taken to Weibo to show off the OnePlus 3's fast charging DASH tech and how it fares against other flagships using Qualcomm's Quick Charge feature. And he does so not through rigorous lab stress test but with a somewhat controversial behavior among smartphone users. That is, playing games on the OnePlus 3 while charging it at the same time. Fortunately for the OnePlus, it was victorious and remained unscathed.

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Quick charging, by whatever name the feature is called, has become the band-aid solution to our battery woes while we await the day when newer, better batteries are finally available. Not surprisingly, each OEM or fast charging technology requires the use of a proprietary charger. The OnePlus 3, however, one ups all of those by requiring not just a proprietary charger for its Dash Charge feature to work, it also requires to use of a proprietary cable at, of course, only OnePlus sells.

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As smartphones get more powerful, they consume more battery as well. While smartphone processors are getting more advanced, battery technology has mostly stayed in the same spot for years now. To ensure an optimal mobile experience, mobile chip makers are also dipping their toes into battery tech, especially fast charging features. Last year Qualcomm revealed its Quick Charge 3.0. Now it's rival MediaTek's turn to this version 3. Its Pump Express 3.0 promises you won't waste time hugging walls by charging your smartphone from 0 to 70% in just 20 minutes. That's equivalent to 5 minutes of charging for 4 hours of talking.

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Today we're having a look at Qualcomm's own Quick Charge 3.0 as used in two new AUKEY products: the Amp Type-C 5-Port Charging Station and the QC 3.0 Dual-Port Car Charger. If you're in search of a set of USB-C compatible charging devices for your next-generation Android devices - HTC 10 and LG G5 included - these pieces of equipment are ready to roll. We've got our hands on both this week to give them the once-over for our many Quick Charge 3.0 devices, all part of the new wave.

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Despite the promises of a better USB future, USB Type-C, the reversible, all-in-one connection, is still in a stage fraught with growing pains. Some manufacturers and accessory makers are too eager to jump onto the USB-C bandwagon that they don't always check for proper compliance and implementation. Even OnePlus was guilty of that rookie mistake. Fortunately, it seems that LG has learned from others' mistakes and has ensured that the USB-C port on the LG G5 is compatible with both Qualcomm's proprietary Quick Charge 3.0 and the more standard USB Power Delivery 2.0 spec.

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Previously seen as heavy oddities and luxuries, power banks or portable battery packs have become essential life savers. While mobile devices become more powerful, batteries become less removable and less capable of catching up. But while battery packs offer emergency power, they have their drawbacks, like some added weight or yet another device you have to remember to charge before hand. AnkerBox wants to both remedy that while making a profit, by starting a charging-as-a-service business, offering battery packs and charging stations for rent or for purchase.

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A lot of attention these days is being lavished on batteries and charging, mostly because of how much we seem to be doing that every day. We're always on the lookout for better ways to power our devices, from improvements in the batteries themselves to alternative ways of charging. While the magical "charging from thin air" is still a far ways off, the technology that can pull not a rabbit but electrical energy from thin air enough to power senors might just be around the corner if Drayson Technologies' Freevolt is to be believed.

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Qualcomm is definitely piling up the hype for its upcoming Snapdragon 820 system-on-chip. And hopefully this time, it will be able to deliver without a hitch. After regaling the tech world with the abilities of the 820's three main processors, the Hexagon 680 DSP, the Adreno 530 GPU, and the new Kryo CPU cores, Qualcomm is revealing the last piece of the puzzle that will make any mobile device complete: A new X12 LTE modem capable of supporting the latest advancements and speeds in networking technology.

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