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Your next smartphone could get 5 hours of battery life with 5 minutes of charging

Google Pixel

Darren Weaver

The Google Pixel uses the most recent Snapdragon 821 chip.

Qualcomm on Thursday announced the latest version of its rapid charging tech, appropriately named Quick Charge 4.0.

The company says it'll be 20% faster to charge and 30% more efficient than the previous generation.

It also says it'll get an average-sized smartphone - with a 2,750mAh battery - five hours of battery life with five minutes of charging, or 50% juice with 15 minutes of charging.

Perhaps most importantly, Qualcomm says the new tech is compliant with the USB-C and USB Power Delivery (USB-PD) specs set by Google and USB's standards body. That might not sound like a big deal, but the news comes just a week after Google warned manufacturers not to use the proprietary charging spec ("Vbus") deployed by current Quick Charge devices, due to safety and compatibility concerns.

With Quick Charge 4.0, though, you should be able to get fast charging from more cables, with less risk of your phone going the way of the Galaxy Note 7. The new tech will only be available in devices using new Snapdragon chips - and we'll still have to test it to make sure it lives up to Qualcomm's claims - but it looks like the groundwork is being laid for a smoother, more universal future of all your devices taking advantage of USB-C.

lg v20 usbc

Antonio Villas-Boas/Business Insider

The LG V20 uses the most recent Quick Charge 3.0 tech.

The Quick Charge upgrade comes as part of the launch of the latest flagship in Qualcomm's widely used line of Snapdragon mobile processors, the Snapdragon 835.

Though the company is keeping mum on what exactly is inside in that next-generation chip, it did confirm that it is working with Samsung to produce the 835, and that it will use the Korean company's 10nm 'FinFET' process.

In English, that means it'll be smaller - today's Snapdragon 820 and 821 chips are 14nm - and, according to Qualcomm, more power efficient. Qualcomm says the slimmer size will make it easier for manufacturers to build thinner mobile devices, or give them more room to fit bigger batteries.

Naturally, it's says there'll be a performance boost as well. The chip is in mass production now - expect it to hit higher-end devices in the first half of 2017.