Mobility up: New technology will allow phones to fully charge in just nine minutes without damaging batteries.
- The new technology allows you to quickly charge phones without damaging the batteries.
- Last week, a new technology was presented at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
- Chinese phone maker Oppo predicts tech could be in devices by summer
Worrying about cell phone batteries should be a thing of the past, with new phones that can go completely empty in nine minutes.
For those who are going to work, there will be no more panic if they forget to charge their mobile at night – they can get more than a day’s power while they shower. Meanwhile, anyone planning to spend the night in the city can quickly explode to last until dawn.
Experts say this will allow smaller or thinner phones to be used after devices have grown in size to fit in giant batteries to power all day long.
The new technology, which allows phones to consume power quickly without damaging batteries, was showcased at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona last week and will be in devices by the summer.
For those who go to work, there will be no more panic if they forget to charge their mobile at night – they can get more than a day’s power while they shower.
It comes from Chinese phone maker Oppo, which is the fourth largest firm in the world and is growing rapidly along with its sub-brands OnePlus, Realme and Vivo.
And experts say Apple and Samsung are already working on repeating the feat, as fast charging and long battery life are key benefits of mobile phones.
Stuart Miles, founder of tech website Pocket-Lint.co.uk, said: “Battery life is really important for many users, but efficiency gains are slower than most of us would like.”
“So companies say if you can’t make it last longer, let’s make it charge faster.
“The new technology from Oppo only takes nine minutes — less than it takes to shower and brush your teeth in the morning — to fully charge.”
He added: “It will also enable smaller, thinner and lighter phones. Such ultra-fast charging means smaller batteries – after all, if you can charge them in minutes, you don’t need a giant battery. Of course, a lot of people want a big screen, so phones have to be big to accommodate that, but they don’t have to be that thick and heavy.
“Over the years, the iPhone has gotten heavier and heavier because the battery has gotten bigger and denser.”
Oppo showed off its SuperVooc charging technology using 240W of power with a video showing how a 4,500mAh (amp-hour) battery charges from one percent to 100 percent in nine minutes. The 150 watt version does this in 15 minutes.
Most phones, including the iPhone and Samsung, use only 10 to 30 watts.
Most phones, including the iPhone and Samsung, can draw as little as 10 to 30 watts as too much power going into their batteries damages them. Many firms have kept batteries from overheating, which is dangerous and also damages devices.
In 2016, Samsung had to recall millions of phones due to overheating batteries that damaged the device, and some of them even caught fire after overheating. The Korean giant has recalled 2.5 million mobile phones worth billions of pounds.
Oppo’s new technology has been in development since 2014.
Neil Monger, Oppo UK Product Manager, said: “We have been working on Vooc technology since 2014. Then it was relatively fast and continued to develop.
“It’s not just about speed, it’s about doing it in a safe way for our customers. For example, if you simply try to increase the power of a battery without proper safety precautions, it could cause longer lasting damage to the battery, causing it to wear out more quickly over time. We test and test to avoid this.”
He added: “These new versions of SuperVooc have 13 temperature sensors installed in the phone to monitor charging status in real time. This reduces the chance of overheating and prevents other anomalies.
“If someone keeps a phone for two or three years, they should know that the battery will last. A good battery retains 80 percent of its capacity after 800 charges. Ours do it after 1600.”