Battery worry about cell phones is set to become a thing of the past – with new phones that can go from flat to full in nine minutes.
Those who commute to work won’t panic anymore if they forget to charge their cell phones at night – they can get more than one day’s energy in the shower. Meanwhile, anyone planning a night on the town can give it a quick blast to last up to a few hours.
Experts say it will allow phones smaller or thinner after the devices have swelled in size to fit giant batteries to ensure all-day power.
The new technology, which allows phones to absorb power quickly without damaging batteries, was demonstrated at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona last week — and will be in devices by summer.
It won’t mean more panic for those who commute to work if they forget to charge their cell phones at night – they can get more than one day’s energy in the shower
It comes from Chinese phone maker Oppo, which is the fourth largest globally and is growing rapidly here along with its sub-brands OnePlus, Realme and Vivo.
Experts say Apple and Samsung are already working to replicate the feat – with fast charging and long battery life being a major selling point for mobile phones.
Stuart Miles, founder of technology website Pocket-Lint.co.uk, said: “Battery life is really important for many users, but improvements in efficiency are slower than most of us would like.
So companies say if you can’t make it last longer, let’s make it faster.
“Oppo’s new technology takes just nine minutes – less than you need to shower and brush your teeth in the morning – to fully charge.”
He added: “It will allow the use of smaller, slimmer and lighter devices as well. Ultra-fast charging like this means smaller batteries — after all, if you can fill them up in a matter of 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 it doesn’t have to be very thick and heavy.
“The iPhone has gotten heavier and heavier over the years because the battery has gotten bigger and denser.”
Oppo has demonstrated its SuperVooc charging technology using 240 watts of power, with a video clip showing a 4,500 mAh (ampere-hour) battery that goes from one percent to 100 percent in nine minutes. The 150W version does it in 15 minutes.
Most phones, including iPhones and Samsung devices, can only handle about 10 to 30 watts
Most phones, including iPhones and Samsung devices, can only handle about 10 to 30 watts, because having too much energy in their batteries damages them. Many companies have been held back by batteries overheating, which is dangerous in addition to damaging devices.
Samsung had to recall millions of phones in 2016 after the batteries overheated, damaging the device — some even catching fire after overheating. The Korean giant recalled 2.5 million devices at a cost of billions of pounds.
Oppo’s new technology has been developed since 2014.
Neil Munger, Product Manager at Oppo UK said: “We have been working on Vooc technology since 2014. It was relatively fast at the time and it has continued to evolve.
It’s not just about speed – it’s also about doing it in a safe way for our customers. For example, if you just try to put more power into a battery without the relevant warranties, it could damage the battery in the long run causing it to degrade faster over time. We test and test to avoid that.
He added: ‘These new versions of SuperVooc have 13 temperature sensors installed in the phone to monitor the charging status in real time. It reduces the chances of overheating and prevents other abnormalities.
If someone keeps a phone for two or three years, they need to know that the battery will last. A good battery will retain 80 percent of its capacity after 800 charges. We do that after 1600.