Every so many years there’s a big shift in the industry, and with it people need to make adjustments. The one area in which this has become most recognizable is in cables and the connectors that link them together. When Apple changed from the 30-pin dock connector to the lightning connector, it was easy to say that people weren’t exactly happy at the thought of changing their cables. Sure, adapters were available, but that wasn’t the point in the eyes of a lot of people. The Android world is now going through its own parallel of the lightning debacle with the introduction of Type-C USB. This new connector brings USB 3.0 to our smartphones and tablets, as well as a reversible connector, but not everyone appears to be playing by the rules.
As with all technology standards, there is a specification for the Type-C connector, and for something to be spec-compliant, it needs to follow these documents. Last week, infamous Googler, Benson Leung, took his fight against non-compliant Type-C cables and accessories to HTC and LG. The recently released HTC 10 and LG G5 both ship with Type-C connectors as well as Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 3.0 feature which allows for much speedier charging of a flat or partially-flat battery. This, Leung reasoned, made the two devices non-compliant with the Type-C specification, because it carries too much voltage through the part. Now, Qualcomm have responded.
In a statement the San Diego firm said that “Qualcomm Quick Charge is designed to be connector-independent” and that “when an OEM chooses to implement Quick Charge into their device, they can configure the voltage to fit within the specifications of the USB Type-C standard.” This would suggest that ultimately, HTC and LG can choose how much voltage they want their Type-C connectors to carry, but considering that Qualcomm have received zero reports of any dangerous incidents or failures so far, it would seem as though both the HTC 10 and LG G5 are perfectly safe to use. Just because something isn’t 100% spec-compliant doesn’t mean that it is dangerous, and both devices and their included chargers have been through regulatory approval as it is.