A new power delivery specification has been announced, which will enable USB-C cables to deliver up to 240W of power. That is more than double the current limit.
It was announced by the USB Promoter Group, an alliance of tech companies that specializes in designing the specifications of USB Technology, that the USB Power Delivery (USB PD) Revision 3.1 specification which has the feature to surpass the previous 100W limitation.
According to a report by Android Central, as of now, most smartphones charge at 18-25W, while laptops such as Chromebook and Macbook Pro charge at 45W and 96W respectively. Along with the USB PD, new cable requirements were also announced by the group which set out the hardware requirements of the cables in order to handle the higher output power.
A more stringent power negotiation protocol was defined by the architecture that helped ensure that access to and usage of this higher power capability can be done safely. USB Promoter Group chairman Brad Saunders, in a press release said that “with the new capabilities of USB Power Delivery 3.1, we now enable higher power products such as larger notebook PCs to shift from traditional power connectors to USB Type-C.”
“We also anticipate a wider range of product application developers outside of the traditional USB ecosystem to now consider standardising on USB Type-C with USB PD (to) power their power needs,” he added.
It is informed by the group that key characteristics of the USB PD 3.1 specification included a choice of new fixed voltages: 28V (above 100W), 36V (above 140W) and 48V (above 180W) joining previously defined 5V, 9V, 15V and 20V fixed voltages. Depending on the available power, it would also have a new adjustable voltage mode enabling a range from 15V to one of three maximum voltages (28V, 36V or 48V).
It is speculated that higher power output would mean USB-C could support power-hungry devices like 4K monitors, gaming laptops, docking stations and even printers. This update is part of the USB performance roadmap and will be aimed towards developers first, while the marketing guidelines and branding including labelling info for users would be established later.
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