Google May Impose USB-C Fast-Charging Standard By Blocking Non-Compliant Chargers

USB Type-C is slowly becoming the standard charging port on Android devices, with many new devices, including the Google Pixel and Pixel XL, coming equipped with USB-C slots.

Google, it seems, is now trying to consolidate fast-charging devices across the spectrum under a single USB-C standard. Currently, many companies have their own charging standards such as Qualcomm’s Quick Charge, Oppo’s VOOC and MediaPump Express. This has led to many different kinds of chargers in the market, which causes fragmentation — the users have to conduct a confusing search for the third-party chargers compatible with their phones or buy expensive chargers from companies.

The company is now trying to impose a universal USB-C standard across the vast ecosystem of Android devices. The company’s recently published Android 7.0 Compatibility Definition states: “Type-C devices are strongly recommended to not support proprietary charging methods that modify Vbus voltage beyond default levels, or alter sink/source roles as such may result in interoperability issues with the chargers or devices that support the standard USB Power Delivery methods.

While this is called out as strongly recommended, in future Android versions we might require all Type-C devices to support full interoperability with standard Type-C chargers.”

The company has indicated that Android devices might not support third-party chargers in the future. Going by the text of the document, future Android devices might support standard USB-C chargers rather than third-party solutions.

The change in Google’s policy has come after reports of a series of Android devices exploding, including the Samsung Galaxy Note 7.