What is USB Power Delivery?

Nowadays, digital devices such as mobile phones, bracelets, power banks, game consoles, and Bluetooth headsets have been deeply integrated into our lives. A wide variety of cables, incompatible connectors, and a wide variety of adapters were once an annoyance of many travelers. But the emergence of USB saved us all a headache.

Most cell phones and small electronic devices can be charged via a USB cable. However, there is no uniform standard for fast charging technology under the Android platform, and some major manufacturers have their own fast charging technologies. The emergence of USB power delivery (or PD, for short) is a fast charging standard for USB, which changes our lives again.

Isn’t USB PD, USB3.1 and Type-C the same thing?

Many people think USB PD, USB3.1 and Type-C are all one in the same, but they are very different. USB PD is a kind of power transfer protocol, which can automatically detect the power required to connect the device. While USB 3.1 is a transmission standard, and Type-C is a new interface specification.

What Benefits does USB PD bring to us?

USB PD makes fast charging simpler for users, having one protocol for every device, and makes it lower cost for manufactures. Specifically, there are four great features of USB PD: faster, universal, flexible and bidirectional.

1. Faster

The biggest draw is that USB PD has increased standard power levels to up to 100W. This means your device will be able to charge much faster than before.

》Reason why USB PD helps to charge quickly

USB PD is able to supply up to 100W thanks to its maximum voltage and current (20V/5A). The Type-C interface supports up to 5V/3A by default, but after the USB PD protocol is implemented, the output power can be supported up to 100W. That’s why so many devices with practical Type-C interfaces now support the USB PD protocol.

2. Universal

There is no doubt that the popularity of USB PD 3.0 is a good thing for users. Nowadays, all kinds of fast charging technologies are developed by the manufacturers themselves. The conditions for fast charging are harsh. Mobile phones, chargers and data lines are in one-to-one correspondence inextricably. With USB PD 3.0, all different brands of mobile phones, fast charge chargers and data lines will be universal.

》Reason why USB PD helps to achieve everything universal

USB PD 3.0 is able to achieve both high voltage / low current, low voltage / high current fast charging scheme. Its overall idea combines high voltage and low current like Qualcomm QC fast charging with high-voltage/low-current and VOOC flash charge with low-voltage/high-current.

3. Flexible

 At present, the USB PD standard is divided into 10W, 18W, 36W, 60W and 100W five-level "Specifications". The voltage is 5V, 12V and 20V, and the current is 1.5A, 2A, 3A and 5A. This flexible configuration allows that various electronic devices can meet the power supply requirements through a USB cable. Power can not only be supplied to mobile devices, but even notebooks and monitors.

4. Bidirectional:

USB PD can transmit both DC and data. This means it can prioritize between the power supply and the power consuming equipment. While in a traditional scenario, the host as a power provider can power the connected laptop while the laptop is only the power receiver.

Devices that support USB PD

Apple iPhone has begun to support fast charging and the universal USB PD fast charging protocol, which makes it much more popular. With the popularity of USB PD 3.0, currently many smart phones, chargers, power banks and laptops could support it.

As to portable chargers which are very essential today, here is one recommended of Zendure.

A8PD with USB-C: High-Speed Charging

There two obvious characteristics of A8PD: super-fast and super-high capacity, which are the main considerations when we purchase a power bank.

The biggest feature of A8PD of Zendure is its super-fast USB-C charge and recharge——30W power delivery gives your iPhone, MacBook, Nintendo Switch, most Type-C PD laptops, Android phones and tablets completely smooth charging speed and experience. For example, it charges iPhone X, iPhone 8/ 8 Plus up to 50% in just 30 minutes.

Another is its large capacity, unimaginable 26800mAh may be the highest capacity you’ve ever seen, and it’s also the largest capacity Zendure power bank. Recharge it fully once in just 3-4 hours, and then it could charge your iPhone X 7.3 times. Fantastic, isn’t it?

The Bright Development Prospect of USB PD

USB PD has now evolved to the USB PD 3.0 version. Under the impetus of Google, USB PD has already compiled Qualcomm's QC fast charge agreement, and it is expected to unify the current chaotic fast charge market in the near future.