Chinese phone maker Oppo has launched a new technology that charges smartphones to 100% in exactly nine minutes. Showcased last week at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, the technology does not affect battery life and may become available to the public by summer, NYP reports.
Oppo’s product manager in the UK, Neil Monger, called the new charging technology SuperVooc, saying it is safe for mobile devices and does not overheat. He said SuperVooc had been in testing since 2014 and has 13 temperature sensors to ensure it does not overcharge a phone to the point of damaging the battery.
“It’s not just about speed – it is also about doing it in a way that is safe for our customers,” Monger said. “If someone is keeping a phone for two or three years, they need to know the battery will last. A good battery will retain 80% of its capacity after 800 charges. Ours do that after 1,600.”
During the demonstration in Barcelona, Oppo used a 240-watt of battery power to show the technology charge a 4,500mAh battery to 100% in nine minutes. A 150-watt power was fully charged in 15 minutes. Meanwhile, most smartphones such as Samsung and iPhones have 10-30 watts of power since too much power can overheat the battery and damage devices.
In 2016, Samsung recalled millions of smartphones when they burst into flames due to batteries overheating.
Founder of a UK tech website, Stuart Miles, said the new technology might necessitate the manufacture of smaller phones. He said smartphones are getting bigger because of the need to accommodate bigger and enduring batteries; but with Oppo’s supercharging technology, newer phones may be smaller and contain smaller batteries.
“The new technology from Oppo only takes nine minutes – less than it takes to shower and brush your teeth in the morning – to have a full charge,” Miles said. “So companies are saying if you cannot make it last longer, let’s make it charge quicker. Super speedy charging like this means smaller batteries – after all, if you can fill them up in a matter of minutes, then you don’t need a giant one.”
He said many people prefer larger screens, but phones do not have to be bulkier to accommodate that. Tech insiders revealed that Apple and Samsung are working stealthily to incorporate the new fast-charging technology into newer products that are in the pipeline.