Apart from Apple, Samsung, and Google, many smartphone manufacturers have been racing to develop the fastest charging technology. Still, these are all band-aid remedies to the core problem that has plagued smartphones for years. In contrast to the rapid innovation happening in smartphones and even charging technologies, battery technology, particularly for consumer devices, hasn’t exactly progressed leaps and bounds in recent years. Xiaomi, on the other hand, intends to sing a new tune shortly, and it’s unveiling a breakthrough in battery research and development that sounds almost too minor but has a bigger impact than a 120W super-fast charging speed.
Stopgap solutions for fast charging
It’s almost unbelievable how far we’ve come in charging technologies. We used to have to leave our phones plugged in overnight to ensure that they had enough energy when we woke up. Unless you have a phone that can stop or trickle charge after a certain percentage, it may be more risky and inefficient to do so these days.
We’ve even reached a point where some businesses appear to have lost their marbles. Xiaomi debuted it’s latest super-fast charging methods earlier this year, with wired charging speeds of up to 200W and wireless charging speeds of up to 120W. Of course, we haven’t seen anything even close to this in this year’s phones.
However, not all smartphone manufacturers have gone on board with good cause. You must pay hidden prices with faster charging, such as overall battery longevity and safety issues. Fast charging solutions are primarily intended to reduce the time we spend waiting for our phones to charge. They don’t truly go to the source of the problem.
Small but Important
We carry the same volatile chemicals inside our pockets day in and day out since smartphone batteries haven’t evolved much over the years, possibly decades. Xiaomi, on the other hand, is now making a large claim that may appear little in context but is likely one of the most significant advancements in battery technology we’ve heard so far that isn’t tied to charging.
For one thing, it claims to have discovered a means to increase battery capacity by 10% while keeping the same battery size. A 4,000 mAh battery pack, for example, would have a 4,400 mAh capacity, adding 100 minutes of average use, according to Xiaomi. A combination of adjustments in the battery’s internal and external architecture have resulted in this huge improvement. The battery’s protection circuit module (PCM or MCP), for example, is designed to sit flush with the top of the battery, saving space.
Xiaomi also mentions a new charging-related innovation in the shape of a “fuel gauge chip,” which monitors nighttime charging and slows it down until you’re ready to wake up. At this point, it speeds it up until it reaches 100 percent. While several devices already tout this feature, it largely relies on software customized to a company’s Android skin. Xiaomi is directly integrating that technology into the controller hardware of the battery, potentially making it brand-agnostic.
Compared to Xiaomi’s charging claims, the 10% gain almost seems too low, but it only makes it sound more realistic and doable. However, Xiaomi doesn’t expect these batteries to be ready until the second half of 2022, so buyers will have to wait a bit to see and try these improvements. That gives OPPO, one of its main competitors in this market, enough time to unveil its next-generation battery technology, perhaps igniting a new race that focuses on the battery itself rather than just charging speed.
Source: weibo
