The initial announcement of LG’s G4 had one thing notably absent from the specifications, and that was support for Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 2.0 technology. Many people were expecting the device to come fully capable of Quick Charge 2.0, but that didn’t seem to be the case at first, leading to many disappointed responses. It seems like fans will be able to rejoice though, as it’s now been confirmed that the phone will indeed come with the technology.
Initially, LG explained that they don’t see the feature as very critical for a phone with a removable battery, as users have the ability to easily swap their current battery with a fresh one and skip the charging cycle completely. Still, that’s far from convenient in many cases, especially when the user wants to avoid a device reboot, which isn’t an option when swapping the battery. Some phone models support keeping the device running as long as it’s attached to a power cable, but it’s not clear if that’s the case with the G4.
Regardless, the phone has been confirmed to be launching with full Quick Charge 2.0 support, despite the company’s initial plans to omit the functionality. The pre-production units have been reported to charge slightly faster than other models owing to the included 1.8 A charger, but reports claim that the device was still falling behind other phones equipped with the technology.
Quick Charge is becoming more and more prominent in the smartphone market, and for a good reason – battery life and charging times have been at the top of the list of user gripes with smartphone, and it’s the number one thing people want to see changed in future models. Wireless charging is another feature that’s gaining popularity for similar reasons, although it will probably be a while before we see it becoming truly universal and widely accepted.
Still, many phones nowadays are coming out with the full capability to be charged wirelessly, or to get to a more than 50% charge in 20-30 minutes through a cable connection. According to some experts, we’re actually approaching the limits of current technology in that regard, so it’s not clear how much more these things will improve in the near future.
But in the end, there’s always the possibility that we’ll make some major breakthrough that will allow us to enjoy even faster charging times and more durable batteries, and this will probably become the new standard as soon as it’s rolled out.