Moto X Turbo Charge. Great New Feature or Not Ready for Primetime?

[deesugar]

This is the lesser talked about feature but basically for those who don't know..

"According to Motorola, it only takes the new Moto X (2nd Gen) 15 minutes reach an additional 8 hours of battery life. While you’d assume another 15 minutes would bring it to a full charge, that’s not exactly how Quick Charge 2.0 works. The quick battery boost is only provided when the device is completely empty, after which it brings charging to more normal levels (we’re sure this has to do with battery health)."
citation link

So you can only use Quick Charge when you're phone almost completely dead and you can't charge it for longer then 15 minutes in Quick Charge mode. It's assumed normal charging resumes after 15 minutes.

You also need to purchase a special Quick Charge charger for an additional $35

 

[Ry]

This is the lesser talked about feature but basically for those who don't know..

"According to Motorola, it only takes the new Moto X (2nd Gen) 15 minutes reach an additional 8 hours of battery life. While you’d assume another 15 minutes would bring it to a full charge, that’s not exactly how Quick Charge 2.0 works. The quick battery boost is only provided when the device is completely empty, after which it brings charging to more normal levels (we’re sure this has to do with battery health)."
citation link

So you can only use Quick Charge when you're phone almost completely dead and you can't charge it for longer then 15 minutes in Quick Charge mode.

You also need to purchase a special Quick Charge charger for an additional $35

..it's just Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0.

Yeah. It's ready for primetime.

Seems like it's not unlike quick chargers for electric vehicles where it'll get you to 50% to 80% quickly, but still take time to get to full.

 

[YAYTech]

It's an excellent feature, though the charger's a little spendy. I could see some folks not paying the extra if they don't have trouble making it through a day on a charge, or can plug into a slow charger mid-day without worrying about it. The chargers will probably get cheaper quickly, especially as more phones are Quick Charge capable, and aftermarket companies start making chargers.

 

[deesugar]

Yeah. It's ready for primetime.

You think the general public will find a partial charge under only one circumstance the charging solution they've been looking for? Or is it possible the majority of people (People who purchase the Moto X who don't read blogs like AC) might find it confusing and not very helpful?

I think most people won't even bother with it due to a lack of understanding, bad marketing and the lacking of a real solution.

It may be the best that can be done right now but eventually when someone comes out with a quick charger that has no drawbacks as to how or when you can use it, it will be apparent why this version isn't ready for primetime. People on this site like to be on the bleeding edge of technology and spend their time and troubles to tinker with things like rooting and overclocking but they forget the general public isn't like that.

 

[Ry]

You think the general public will find a partial charge under only one circumstance the charging solution they've been looking for? Or is it possible the majority of people (People who purchase the Moto X who don't read blogs like AC) might find it confusing and not very helpful?

I think most people won't even bother with it due to a lack of understanding, bad marketing and the lacking of a real solution.

It may be the best that can be done right now but eventually when someone comes out with a quick charger that has no drawbacks as to how or when you can use it, it will be apparent why this version isn't ready for primetime. People on this site like to be on the bleeding edge of technology and spend their time and troubles to tinker with things like rooting and overclocking but they forget the general public isn't like that.

In your definition, the batteries will need to change. For what it is and for where we're at, it's good enough. It's ready. Next step is a significant change in battery technology.

 

[deesugar]

In your definition, the batteries will need to change. For what it is and for where we're at, it's good enough. It's ready. Next step is a significant change in battery technology.

I agree it's ready for bleeding edge techies but I don't see my mom, sister, girlfriend, dad non-techie friends or anyone else using this.

Asking the general public to purposely run your phone till it's almost dead in order to get a limited 8-hour quick charge in 15 minutes is an odd proposition. People's lives don't cater to technology in that way. Rather technology caters to peoples lives.

Most people these days have a charger to use in their car, at their work and at home. Many even carry around one with them. Therefore the behavior for people is to keep their phones always charged up.

That being said the Quick Charge technology is more of an emergency use case. People won't commonly run their device to the ground unless they forgot their charger or some unforeseen emergency came up.

 

[NoYankees44]

The way this technology works OS the reason for the limits. There is nothing you can do about the physical limitations. Unless you are OK with phones melting and batteries exploding. This technology will not improve until we develop new battery materials.

 

[LoganK]

Asking the general public to purposely run your phone till it's almost dead in order to get a limited 8-hour quick charge in 15 minutes is an odd proposition. People's lives don't cater to technology in that way. Rather technology caters to peoples lives.

You make it sound like you have to put effort into this thing, and that's kind of misleading. The real story is that this charger is the fastest charger for this phone. Full stop. People don't need to know more.

Do average people know how quickly their current phone charges when they start at 60%? 10%? No, and they will continue to not care.

I'm not sure why people need to be "ready" for it. As you wrote, the worst you can say about it is that maybe you won't notice a difference if you always keep your phone topped up, but people that always have their battery charged also aren't likely to buy an accessory to charge faster.

 

[deesugar]

You make it sound like you have to put effort into this thing, and that's kind of misleading. The real story is that this charger is the fastest charger for this phone. Full stop. People don't need to know more.

Do average people know how quickly their current phone charges when they start at 60%? 10%? No, and they will continue to not care.

I'm not sure why people need to be "ready" for it. As you wrote, the worst you can say about it is that maybe you won't notice a difference if you always keep your phone topped up, but people that always have their battery charged also aren't likely to buy an accessory to charge faster.

The misleading part is, to get the Quick Charge you would have to make an effort to make sure you phone is almost dead and at the same time be near a place to charge it when it does. Most people don't read the fine print or instructions when they buy a charger. They'll just see the words "Quick Charge". Try it for a week and end up returning it.

The other part is why would someone want to pay an additional $35 for bulkier then normal charger that they'll rarely get any benefit out?

It reminds me of people who've gone on the Shark Tank to pitch a device that has a certain benefit but none of the Sharks invest because there is no market for it.

There is no market for this kind of half measure. It's interesting and cool but I don't see the masses noticing or caring about this kind of thing.

 

[LoganK]

The misleading part is, to get the Quick Charge you would have to make an effort to make sure you phone is almost dead and at the same time be near a place to charge it when it does. Most people don't read the fine print or instructions when they buy a charger. They'll just see the words "Quick Charge". Try it for a week and end up returning it.

I see. What you describe is not how it actually works.

Every charger charges faster when the battery is more drained. If you are trying to quote a shocking number, that's the number you go with. (Apple used to advertise empty to 80% in an hour because it sounds better than 20% in the next 3 hours.)

This charger should be faster during that 0% to 80% range (although likely a bit less.) You don't have to drain it down to "activate" it. It is simply able to provide more power. Traditional big chargers are 10.5W; this one offers somewhere between 15W and 60W.