New Smartphone Charges In 10 Minutes

A new charging technology could completely fill a phone battery in under 10 minutes. Or at least that's what its developers say.

Chinese company Oppo claims that not only can it achieve the super-speed charge, but it does so without damaging the battery or shortening its lifespan.

The company demonstrated the technology at Mobile World Congress, an annual showcase for the cellphone industry in Barcelona. While not a household name, Oppo is actually the world's fourth biggest company when it comes to sales, behind only Samsung, Apple and Huawei.

The basics of what it calls SuperVooc charging are straightforward: it delivers a far more powerful charge than rivals. Whereas many leading brand phone chargers use in the region of 20 watts. SuperVooc uses 240 watts. That's more than many household devices and similar to the power used by a desktop computer.

Battery Life Extended

Mainstream chargers today have two main limitations on the wattage. One is simply the logistics of the charger and device handling the power level and delivering it to the battery without complications. Oppo isn't giving too much detail about how it overcame that.

The other limitation is the fear that so much power could damage a battery, particularly by overheating it. Oppo says it uses 13 temperature sensors to monitor any such problems and control overheating risks. (Source: dailymail.co.uk)

According to the company, batteries using the technology will keep 80 percent of their capacity after 1,600 charges. It says that's twice the industry standard at the moment. Based on standard use, that would mean extending battery lifespan from two to four years, which would mean this technology was suitable even for users who don't seek to upgrade their handset whenever a new model comes out.

Slimmer Handsets Possible

The demonstration used a 4,500 mAh battery, which is along the lines of those found in many machines today. A video showed the battery going from one percent charge to 100 percent in nine minutes.

If it works as advertised, the Oppo charging would make it far more viable to top up batteries quickly rather than rely on a full charge overnight. In turn that could make it more practical to use a lower capacity battery that allows slimmer and lighter handsets.

Release dates aren't confirmed, but it's likely models using a 150 watts charge (which will fill a phone in 15 minutes) will appear later this year, with the 240-watts models following in 2023 or 2024. (Source: tomsguide.com)

What's Your Opinion?

Would a 10-minute charge make a big difference to the way you use your phone? Would you be happy quickly “topping up” your phone throughout the day with a high-speed charge? Do you trust charging that uses such a high power level?