What is Power Delivery (PD for short), which we have been hearing frequently in the USB charging system lately?
What Are PD Chargers and How Do They Work?
PD is just one of many device charging standards that offer faster charging speeds, but it is becoming a universal standard with more chargers and devices supporting the technology to achieve the fastest charging.
What does PD mean?
PD stands for Power Distribution. It is a type of fast charging technology that provides higher wattage power to certain devices. This means that these devices charge much faster than when using other types of charging technology.
How does PD work?
Power Delivery works by increasing the amount of power delivered to your device from the charger. For example, most standard chargers only provide 5W. However, an iPhone can get 18W of power. A PD charger will take advantage of this ability and deliver the full 18W of power, which will make charging time much faster.
There are several different versions of PD, with speeds increasing as technology improves. Most PD chargers can deliver a maximum of 100W of power, but the latest iteration of PD can deliver up to 240W. All versions of PD use a chip to determine how much power the device it is plugged into can tolerate. The charger will then adjust how much power to deliver to deliver the maximum amount without delivering too much power.
How fast is PD compared to normal charging?
As a general rule, PD charging can be 70% faster for smartphones and tablets. However, the exact speed will vary between devices. For example, the iPhone 14 Pro Max takes approximately 110 minutes to fully charge using a PD charger. With the common 5W charger, this time is even longer.
It takes about an hour and a half for an iPhone X to charge from 0 to 50% with a 5W charger, which is the charger that comes in the box with that model. However, PD charging can charge the iPhone X from 0 to 50% in just 30 minutes. It takes more than three hours to reach a full charge on an iPhone X with a 5W charger, but only two hours with a PD charger.
What are the benefits of PD?
Frankly, the biggest benefit of PD is that it can charge your devices much faster than traditional charging. This means you don’t have to wait long for your device to turn on and be back in your hands. This also means that if you only have a small window of time, you can give your device a quick power boost; This can mean the difference between having enough juice to get you through the day and running out of steam while you work. appeared again.
But this is not the only advantage of PD. In the past, when you connected a cable from your phone to your laptop, power could only flow in one direction. Now, with PD cables, power can run in both directions. So technically you can charge your laptop with your phone.
Another advantage of PD is that it has safety features built into the technology, so your device will never overcharge. It will only provide the amount of power each device needs and will automatically adapt to whatever is plugged in. This means your devices and their batteries will be safe when using PD, as the built-in safety features will prevent overheating and sensitive circuits and components will not be damaged.
Can PD be used with wireless charging?
No – PD can only be used via wired charging. PD is a charging standard that requires a cable and charger, both of which support PD, to provide the required power.
PD and USB-C
PD cables require at least one connector to be USB-C – some cables are USB-C to USB-C, while cables for some Apple devices require USB-C to Lightning. USB-C uses the latest technology and has been designed with PD in mind and therefore has the necessary setup to handle the high speeds and high power levels that come with PD. Components are made not to overheat, and safety features are included as standard to protect both the user and their device.
On the other hand, USB-A was first created 25 years ago. At this time, much lower power levels were transmitted between devices. Therefore, USB-A cannot support PD and higher power levels. Charging your devices with a USB-A connector will result in slower charging speeds.
However, as technology improves, USB-C is becoming the standard for cable connectors. As USB-C becomes more widespread, we’re likely to see more devices that can also support PD, and more chargers and charging accessories that have PD as standard.
Do every device support PD?
No, not every device supports PD. To use PD properly, you’ll need a device that supports it, as well as a charger that can deliver it and a charging cable.
There are many types of devices that support PD, including smartphones, tablets, hard drives, headsets, cameras, and laptops. Most modern smartphones from Apple, Google, Samsung and some other Android brands all support PD and can be charged quickly when using the right charging accessories.
Each type of device will require a different amount of power. The right PD charging accessory will be able to provide the required power for any device. For example, a laptop will need between 29W and 100W of power. A tablet needs to be between 18W and 30W, and a smartphone needs to be between 18W and 45W. You can also use PD to charge your compatible power banks that can take between 18W and 25W.