Written by: Subhasish Adhikary

Rapid Charging vs Quick Charging vs Dash Charging: Comparison

All the premium and mid-priced mobiles come with fast charging techniques. Different brands call these by different names and from a customer’s perspective, this can be a bit confusing.

This article is about explaining different fast charging techniques like rapid charging, quick charging, and dash charging.

What is Rapid Charging?

It is a licensed Qualcomm technology that works with all flagship phones which come with Snapdragon android. It is recommended to use a power adapter that came with the handset to utilize the rapid charging feature most efficiently.

Any suitable third-party adapter will work as well. Apart from that if you use any other adapter, the charging will be at a normal pace.

The technology works on the idea of maximizing the phone charging transfer while making the phone work efficiently while charging as well. 

What is Quick Charging?

Rapid Charging vs Quick Charging vs Dash Charging: Comparison 1
What is Quick Charging

It is the same technique that rapid charging uses. It is a marketing gimmick used by smartphone manufacturers and the customer might get confused between rapid charging and quick charging because of that.

Quick charging maximizes the phone charging power while making the handset work efficiently. There comes an upgraded version for the same as well called Quick Charge 2.0. It allows the phone to be charged on a power level of 36 Watts.

In this, the high AC current from the wall outlet is converted to the amount that is safe for your device to be charged on.

The current that will be drawn from the wall outlet will vary from device to device but normally it draws current between the range of 1-2.4 Amps.

The more the current is drawn, the faster the charging will be. The latest Quick charge available is Quick Charge 5, read more about it on the Qualcomm website.

So while deciding on the handset you can keep in mind this point that the device can draw more current which will lead to more quick charging.

What is Fast Charging?

Fast charging is a feature supported by some modern phones and tablets that will power it up in very less time. The reason many devices take such a long time to charge normally is the limited amount of power they can draw at once; typically five watts or less.

This is a design choice that keeps manufacturing costs for basic wall warts low and also ensures that the relatively small batteries inside of mobile gadgets won’t fry from being overloaded with too much power. 

The charging process:

Rapid Charging vs Quick Charging vs Dash Charging: Comparison 2
The Charging Process

You must have noticed that initially your phone gets charged at a higher rate and gradually it slows down. There are 3 stages in charging:

Stage 1: Constant Current: As the voltage increases its maximum threshold; the current stays constant. This is the stage where the power is quickly delivered to the phone and thus the maximum charge in less amount of time.

Stage 2: Saturation: This is the stage where the voltage has reached its peak i.e. the maximum threshold point and now the current drops down instead of staying stable.

Stage 3: Trickle/ Topping: This is the stage when the phone battery is completely charged and still there is a power supply the power will periodically charge a low ‘topping’ amount as the phone consumes the battery.

This particular standard is set for charging the phones so that the phones do get overheated and might explode. Different manufacturers have adopted this technology and have named it different names. The basic idea is the same with different techniques to attain the same result i.e. fast charging. For example:

  • Qualcomm Quick Charge
  • Samsung Adaptive Fast Charging
  • OnePlus Warp Charging
  • Oppo Super VOOC Charging

What is Adaptive Fast Charging?

This is the fast charging technique available in Samsung handsets, especially the Galaxy series. In this technique, the maximum power that can be drawn is 18W.

The best part is that it knows when the battery is completely charged and its power cuts itself even if the phone is plugged into the power; hence the name ‘adaptive’ to it. It automatically changes its charging speed so that the battery life can last long.

Read more about it on the Samsung website.

What is Supercharging?

This charging technique was introduced by Huawei. This charging technique is compatible with Huawei and Honor handsets. Its basic idea is that it alternates the Voltage and Amps optimally during the process of charging. The handsets have an integrated power regulator chip inside the phone which does the magic.

What is Dash Charge technology?

OnePlus phone comes with dash charging technology. The Dash charging technology was originally created by OPPO. The idea of dash charging technology is that it does not increase the voltage amount, rather it draws more current which is drawn through a thick charging cable which draws more Amps at once.

The system uses a charging connector of 11 Voltage which draws 5 Amps of current. It can offer a maximum output of 55 Watts. This offers faster charging as compared to the quick charging technique. This is a really smart choice because you can use the phone while it’s charging since the phone does not heat up.

What is the VOOC charge?

VOOC i.e. Voltage Open Loop Multi-step Constant-Current Charging is a fast charging technology introduced by OPPO. The VOOC flash charge circuit lowers the temperature of the charging adapter and creates an interface between the phone and the adapter which maintains the charging speed and safety of the charge. It can draw power up to 50W to enable fast charging in their phones.

Rapid vs VOOC vs Quick Charge: Which is the best charging technology?

Rapid Charging vs Quick Charging vs Dash Charging: Comparison 3
Rapid vs VOOC vs Quick Charge: Which is the best charging technology?

The simple logic behind how fast the phone charges depends upon the amount of voltage drawn.

One major problem with the larger amount of voltage drawn is that it leads to heating of the battery and makes it volatile or reduces the battery life drastically. Most phones these days enable us to perform fast charging.

When we talk about fast charging, 3 major technologies come to our mind, rapid charging, VOOC charging, and quick charging.

These 3 fast-charging technologies use different techniques to enable our phones to charge faster.

The most popular and widely used technology is quick charge because there are a lot of accessories that support quick charge. Although the charging rate is lesser as compared to VOOC but due to the availability of truckloads of compatible accessories, it is one of the most commonly used fast charging technology.

The quick charge is compatible with USB-PD as well which means that those phones which are compatible with USB-PD can use a quick charging cable and vice-versa as well.

VOOC charging technology.

This technology produces mild to medium heat as the voltage regulation is done in the phone. What VOOC charging technology does is regulate the current and this regulation is done via the adapter and not via phone which reduces the heating of the battery. But one disadvantage is that you cannot use a VOOC charger to charge non-compatible phones.

Concluding VOOC is undoubtedly the best fast charging technology available in the market today. It charges the phones the fastest as compared to the other fast charging technologies available today. It does not heat the battery as well, thus the battery life of the mobile phone is more as compared to the quick and rapid charge.

Some commonly asked questions:

What is the difference between Qualcomm Quick Charge and Oneplus Dash?

The idea of Oneplus dash charging technology is that it does not increase the voltage amount, rather it draws more current which is drawn through a thick charging cable which draws more Amps at once.

The idea of Qualcomm Quick Charge is that it draws a lot of power maintaining the number of Amps drawn. Dash Charge Technology offers faster charging as compared to the Quick Charging technique.

Are quick charging and fast charging the same?

Yes, they are the same thing with brands doing the marketing gimmick.

Which is better: super-fast charging or fast charging?

Superfast charging by default is disabled even if the handset supports it. The reason is that it draws a lot of power which might hamper the battery longevity. Superfast charging uses 25W-45W while charging and fast charging intakes 15W of power. It depends upon the adapter which you are using.

Which one is better: fast charging or slow charging?

Fast charging and slow charging, both have their pros and cons. The fast charging will allow your battery to be charged in minutes but the power might get heated up and may hang if you try using the phone while it’s charging.

Also, the battery life may not last long as compared to the slow charging batteries. The disadvantage with slow charging is that it charges the battery slowly and in the world where the phones are offering a 5min battery charge, going with slow charging batteries is a lot to ask.

Is VOOC and dash charge the same?

Yes, it is the same thing. The technology used is the same. It is called VOOC charge in OPPO handsets and Dash Charge in OnePlus handsets.

Dart charge vs VOOC charge. Which is better?

Yes, it is the same thing. The technology used is the same. It is called VOOC charge in OPPO handsets and Dash Charge in OnePlus handsets.

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Subhasish Adhikary

I'm constantly in search of the latest gadgets & technology news that I can share with you. In my meantime, I blog on topics ranging from digital marketing, online business, startups to tech gadgets.

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