USB PD Explained: How Power Delivery Chargers Work

There are plenty of different charging methods for phones and gadgets, and USB-PD is one that’s catching on quickly. In fact, very soon, the Android phones you find on the shelves will all be using this technology to charge faster.`

What Is USB-PD?

The USB part of USB-PD stands for “Universal Serial Bus.” It should be familiar to you because this is the same technology that lets you plug in mice, keyboards, and other peripherals into your computer. The PD part, however, is the new bit that stands for “Power Delivery.”

Removing Proprietary Barriers and Reducing Waste

The problem with these technologies, however, is that they’re proprietary. The manufacturers made them to charge their own devices, and nothing else. For example, a Qualcomm Quick Charge charger will do a great job with a phone designed to use it, but it won’t play nice with a Samsung device that uses Adaptive Fast Charging.

USB-PD Uses Two-Way Charging

Now let’s take one step further and imagine that the cable can direct power either way. Instead of having devices that only charge and devices that only receive a charge, any USB-PD device can either accept or give out energy. This handy feature means less messing around with different charger types, and more devices “piggybacking” off of other USB-PD devices.