SCIENTISTS have built a new record-breaking charger that can fully charge a smartphone in under five minutes.
Our phones are capable of more tasks than ever. But with a wider library of services comes a greater need for power.
Chinese researchers from electronics company Realme have revealed a mega 320W fast charger that can get a phone battery up to 100% in 4.5 minutes.
It tops the record previously held by smartphone maker Redmi, owned by Xiaomi, which boasted a 300W charger that powered up devices in four minutes and 55 seconds.
For context, Apple's fastest charger - which is used to charge some of its newer iPhones - is 96W.
With Realme's "supersonic" charger, a smartphone's battery percentage can climb from 0% to 26% in 60 seconds, according to GSMArena.
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In less than two minutes, the smartphone can be halfway to a full charge.
"To be a tech brand that better understands young users, we need to make sure our products satisfy their demand for speed," Francis Wong, head of product marketing at Realme, said
How does it work?
Conventional chargers suck up electricity to power a single battery cell or multiple cells in a sequence.
But fast-charging technology - like what Realme has recently unveiled - relies on multiple battery cells in a single battery being powered simultaneously.
Scientists at Realme miniaturised each battery cell into layered structures so they could squeeze more battery cells into a single adapter.
The company has also unveiled a "AirGap" voltage transformer, which ensures that high voltages are isolated from smartphone batteries.
This helps protect smartphones from any electrical faults like circuit breakdowns, and even the damaging effects of overheating or overcharging.
The transformer relies on something called "contact-free electromagnetic conversion," according to company representatives.
It essentially reduces the voltage to 20 volts to prolong the battery life of the smartphone.
It also helps the fast-charger maintain a 93% power efficiency while charging.
The new charger has two USB-C ports so users can charge up two devices at the same time.
The maximum charging rates are reportedly up to 150W for Realme smartphones and 65W for compatible laptops.
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The company looks set to roll out the new charger alongside its Realme 13 series smartphone, which it says is "coming soon".
Onlookers have called the ultra-fast technology a "beast" and "absurd".
In a post on Reddit, one user commented: "My phone charges at 125W and it goes to two percentage points and counts up in real time. Takes almost no time to charge.
"This is an insane speed."
Another added: "I don't understand how Chinese brands are so far ahead with their charging tech while Samsung can't get their s*** together.
"Of course there's more to a phone than just charging, but I wish I could top up my phone quickly before heading out."