We may need to start paying attention to Chinese phone makers when it comes to battery life and fast charging speeds. Those companies are in an unspoken race to make the biggest batteries and fastest charging speeds.
Manufacturer Realme recently revealed a new 320W Pocket Cannon charger that is supposedly capable of charging a phone to full in less than five minutes. The 320W SuperSonic Charge technology was shown charging a 4,420 mAh battery in four minutes and 30 seconds (spotted by The Verge).
That size battery is a little smaller than what many flagship lineups feature today. The newly announced Google Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro have 4,700 mAh batteries.
The new charging speeds are possible because of two new technology in chargers and in a new style of battery. The company boosted the power of its Pocket Cannon from the 240W charger that launched last year to the new 320W level without making the charger bigger.
That 240W level isn't new as Oppo revealed a 240W charging system in 2022 and Redmi announced a 300W capable charger last year.
The charger also features two USB-C ports that are supposed to be capable of offering 150W to Realme phones and 65W to other devices like laptops.
320W SuperSonic Charge is officially unveiled today! Click the video to learn more about the technology behind it and see how long it takes to charge a phone fully!#realme828Fanfest #320WFastestCharge pic.twitter.com/osefpxcRlTAugust 14, 2024
The other innovation, outlined in the video above, is a 4,420 mAh which features four individual calls that are folded on top of one another so they can be squeezed into a smartphone. Apparently, all four cells can be charged simultaneously.
It follows a pattern of multi-cell batteries from Realme which currently uses dual-cell batteries, which offer faster charging. Because of various regulations in Europe and the United States, the West tends to not see some of the battery innovations that Chinese customers get. It's why the new glacier battery from OnePlus is interesting but the question is whether or not the 6,100 mAH will make it out of China.
Companies like Apple and Samsung, however, utilize single-cell batteries which tend to offer higher capactiy. The flagship Galaxy Ultra phones have featured a 5,000 mAh battery for a couple of years now and its rumored that next year's Galaxy S25 Ultra will have the same battery as the S24 Ultra.
There is a catch with these mega fast charging technologies, none of them have really made it into phones. The Redmi 300W isn't in any Redmi devices. Last year, the Realme GT Neo 5 launched with 240W capablities but that's it from Realme.
Realme didn't reveal what phone they charged in four minutes and 30 seconds, nor did they reveal any devices that might be receiving the four-cell battery in the future.
These battery tests and demos are cool, but when will they be in real devices? And while faster charging is cool, longer battery life on the front-end would be preferable.
With the rising cost of producing a smartphone, it makes sense that big companies like Samsung and Apple are trying to squeeze the most life they can out of the batteries they already have.
