Qualcomm PM8150B and PMI632 PMIC USB Type-C and Power Delivery controllers
Handles USB Type-C connector detection and USB Power Delivery on Qualcomm PMICs, specifically the PM8150B (paired with flagship Snapdragons like the SM8250) and the PMI632 (paired with mid-range parts like the SM6115). These chips sit inside current Qualcomm phones, e-readers, and robotics boards that use a USB-C port for charging and data.
recommendation
It should stay in the kernel because the code is actively maintained, with substantive commits as recently as August 2025 and ongoing expansion to new Qualcomm PMIC variants such as the PMI632. The hardware it supports is still shipping in 2025, including SM8250-based platforms like the Thundercomm Robotics RB5 development kit and SM6115-based devices like the ONYX Boox Go 6, and there is no replacement driver in sight.
repository signals
sources
- git.kernel.org
Upstream path is active, with regular changes across 2023-2025 rather than abandoned code.
- git.kernel.org
The directory received a substantive touch on 2025-08-21, showing ongoing maintenance.
- git.kernel.org
PMI632 support was added after initial merge, indicating the driver is still expanding to additional Qualcomm PMIC variants.
- linaro.github.io
Linaro's Qualcomm mainline status page lists PMI632 Type-C/PD support and says PMI632 is usually used with MSM8953 or SM6115.
- linaro.github.io
Linaro's SM8250 platform page lists PM8150B among supported PMICs, tying the driver to real Qualcomm production platforms.
- thundercomm.com
Thundercomm still lists the Qualcomm Robotics RB5 development kit for sale, showing an SM8250/PM8150B-class platform remains commercially available.
- onyxboox.com
ONYX still markets the Go 6 device, providing evidence that SM6115-class PMI632-based hardware remains present in new-device channels.
codex reasoning notes (technical)
Local `exec_command` inspection showed this is a real platform driver with OF matches for `qcom,pm8150b-typec` and `qcom,pmi632-typec`; local `git -c safe.directory=... log` showed sustained multi-author activity through 2025 and no visible removal trend. The three `git.kernel.org` URLs are canonical-recall commit/log pages built from hashes/path obtained via `exec_command`. The Linaro, Thundercomm, and ONYX URLs were obtained via `web.search_query`. Conclusion: actively maintained, no natural successor driver, and hardware is still present in current niche/mobile/embedded deployments, so keep rather than deprecate.