Again and again when a company launches its latest phone, we hear about some unique features. There are phones that can scan iris and there are phones that can do open the camera app when you do a proverbial somersault with your hand while holding them. Most of these "unique" are actually gimmicks. But then some aren't, although it may take a while for a phone users to realise that. In my case, that happens to be the Dash charging in the OnePlus 3. It sounds like a feature that would be supercool but I never actually bothered with it. That is until I travelled. Once I was out of the town, and on the road mostly, I realised what an incredible feature is this Dash charging. It's life-saver!
What is Dash charging?
Before I sing some paeans for the Dash charging, a quick introduction. Despite all the advances in technology, battery life in a phone continues to be a problem. A smartphone does so many things that it never has enough battery life. There are two ways to solve it: either the batteries get better, in terms of both capacity and the how they provide power, or they charge so fast that a quick charging is all a user needs when running out of the battery life in the phones.In the last couple of years, companies have focused on the quick charging method because it is apparently easier to do. Qualcomm, which makes processors for almost all the high-end phones, even came out with a default quick charging solution that companies can use in their phones without much effort. Dash charging from OnePlus is similar. But there are some differences. It is even more faster and, according to OnePlus 3, smarter than the default quick charging solution provided by Qualcomm. In the actual use, I found that the claim about faster is true. Smarter, I am not sure because that is one thing almost impossible to test unless you take apart the phone and use specialised tools to monitor and current and the health of the battery.
Why it's a big deal
OnePlus says that using the Dash charger, which it bundles with the phone, "a quick 30-minute charge will replenish over 60 per cent of OnePlus 3 battery". This just seems like one of those random numbers that phone companies love to throw around in a bid to impress consumers even though in the real-world use, it doesn't matter much. And it is that sort of number until you have enough time to charge your phone. So for example, if you are charging your phone every night while coming back from office, you will not appreciate the Dash charging. It is when you are running short on time and don't always have access to a power socket, you start realising its worth.
Recently, I travelled to Goa and used the OnePlus 3 as my primary phone. With most of the time I working from the phone, considering I was mostly on the road, I soon ran into the battery problems. But that is where the Dash charging came handy. Even if I had access to a power socket for just fine minutes every 2 to 3 hours, that ensured that there was enough battery in my phone to keep it chugging.
With five to 10 minutes of charging, it is easy to get around 15 per cent to 20 per cent of charge in the phone, which with some careful use is enough to make the phone last another 2 to 3 hours.
It is difficult to convey in words the kind of convenience it represents. It is something that needs to be experienced. It is one of those little things that make a big difference in how you use your phone, in a better way. It's just like the water-resistant bodies that some phones nowadays have -- OnePlus 3 lacks this, so may be OnePlus can fix this next year with the OnePlus 4 -- or something like plug-and-play copy paste of files. The water-resistant phones don't sound like a big deal until you use one and realise the sort of convenience and peace of mind they bring they offer. The same is with something like USB to Go, which allows a user to quickly peek into a phone and transfer files.
The Dash charging is something similar, and every phone needs to have it. It is pure convenience. In fact, once you have used it you would wonder how you lived without it until now. You would look for it in your next phone. It's that useful.
One caveat
OnePlus 3 says that Dash charging is a very smart solution with none of the issues that other quick charging solutions may have. But there is always a price to pay, it is just that in the case of Dash charging I am not sure what is that price. The traditional belief is that the quick charging, although nice, also affects the battery cycles adversely and shortens its life. Although, it does matter much because nowadays a phone anyways doesn't supposed to last more than 2 to 3 years.
"Dash charge produces a larger electric current rather than increasing the pressure, leading to stable, consistent charging speed," says OnePlus. in other words, it doesn't adversely affect the battery life of the OnePlus 3. But that is a claim by the maker of OnePlus and the long-term effects of Dash charging on the battery of the phone are difficult to ascertain, especially for consumers unless they have used the phone for couple of years.
What is Dash charging?
Before I sing some paeans for the Dash charging, a quick introduction. Despite all the advances in technology, battery life in a phone continues to be a problem. A smartphone does so many things that it never has enough battery life. There are two ways to solve it: either the batteries get better, in terms of both capacity and the how they provide power, or they charge so fast that a quick charging is all a user needs when running out of the battery life in the phones.In the last couple of years, companies have focused on the quick charging method because it is apparently easier to do. Qualcomm, which makes processors for almost all the high-end phones, even came out with a default quick charging solution that companies can use in their phones without much effort. Dash charging from OnePlus is similar. But there are some differences. It is even more faster and, according to OnePlus 3, smarter than the default quick charging solution provided by Qualcomm. In the actual use, I found that the claim about faster is true. Smarter, I am not sure because that is one thing almost impossible to test unless you take apart the phone and use specialised tools to monitor and current and the health of the battery.
Why it's a big deal
OnePlus says that using the Dash charger, which it bundles with the phone, "a quick 30-minute charge will replenish over 60 per cent of OnePlus 3 battery". This just seems like one of those random numbers that phone companies love to throw around in a bid to impress consumers even though in the real-world use, it doesn't matter much. And it is that sort of number until you have enough time to charge your phone. So for example, if you are charging your phone every night while coming back from office, you will not appreciate the Dash charging. It is when you are running short on time and don't always have access to a power socket, you start realising its worth.
Recently, I travelled to Goa and used the OnePlus 3 as my primary phone. With most of the time I working from the phone, considering I was mostly on the road, I soon ran into the battery problems. But that is where the Dash charging came handy. Even if I had access to a power socket for just fine minutes every 2 to 3 hours, that ensured that there was enough battery in my phone to keep it chugging.
With five to 10 minutes of charging, it is easy to get around 15 per cent to 20 per cent of charge in the phone, which with some careful use is enough to make the phone last another 2 to 3 hours.
It is difficult to convey in words the kind of convenience it represents. It is something that needs to be experienced. It is one of those little things that make a big difference in how you use your phone, in a better way. It's just like the water-resistant bodies that some phones nowadays have -- OnePlus 3 lacks this, so may be OnePlus can fix this next year with the OnePlus 4 -- or something like plug-and-play copy paste of files. The water-resistant phones don't sound like a big deal until you use one and realise the sort of convenience and peace of mind they bring they offer. The same is with something like USB to Go, which allows a user to quickly peek into a phone and transfer files.
The Dash charging is something similar, and every phone needs to have it. It is pure convenience. In fact, once you have used it you would wonder how you lived without it until now. You would look for it in your next phone. It's that useful.
One caveat
OnePlus 3 says that Dash charging is a very smart solution with none of the issues that other quick charging solutions may have. But there is always a price to pay, it is just that in the case of Dash charging I am not sure what is that price. The traditional belief is that the quick charging, although nice, also affects the battery cycles adversely and shortens its life. Although, it does matter much because nowadays a phone anyways doesn't supposed to last more than 2 to 3 years.
"Dash charge produces a larger electric current rather than increasing the pressure, leading to stable, consistent charging speed," says OnePlus. in other words, it doesn't adversely affect the battery life of the OnePlus 3. But that is a claim by the maker of OnePlus and the long-term effects of Dash charging on the battery of the phone are difficult to ascertain, especially for consumers unless they have used the phone for couple of years.
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