Fast charging is an increasingly widespread and popular addition to modern smartphones. Almost every new Android handset features some sort of solution for giving it a rapid injection of energy, and one of the most popular varieties among them is Qualcomm's Quick Charge. It's an option built into the company's current line of Snapdragon processors, and it's getting an upgrade to version 3.0 with the 2016 family, headlined by the Snapdragon 820.

A new Intelligent Negotiation for Optimum Voltage (INOV) algorithm will allow portable devices to "determine what power level to request at any point in time for optimum power transfer, while maximizing efficiency." Together with a series of other advancements, this will result in 38 percent more efficient charging than the second-generation Quick Charge, and a doubling of charging speed from the original Quick Charge 1. In practical terms, says Qualcomm, this will mean that the typical smartphone can be recharged from a flat battery all the way to 80 percent in 35 minutes.

Qualcomm also notes that it's implemented "additional steps to help protect battery cycle life," so its new solution should be both more efficient and more forgiving on the battery. The Snapdragon 820 chipset will be joined by the Snapdragon 620, 618, 617, and 430 in supporting the latest variety of Quick Charge. They are available to Qualcomm's hardware partners today and will be making their debut in devices coming in 2016.