In videos posted to the Internet Friday, Huawei showed off a new smartphone battery that can be charged to nearly half power in 5 minutes.
The videos depict both a 3,000 MaH battery that reaches 48 percent capacity in five minutes and a 600 mAh battery that can be charged to nearly 70 percent capacity in two minutes on a large prototype charger.
According to a ComputerWorld report, the new battery is based on the standard lithium ion technology used in batteries today, but takes advantage of atoms of graphite bonded to the anode. The report states that the faster charge is achieved without adverse impacts on usage life or the amount of energy stored in the battery.
No release date has yet been given for the charger.
Huawei’s work on a fast-charge battery reflects an industry-wide push toward both high-speed and wireless charging. In April, a team a Stanford University invented and demonstrated an aluminum-ion battery for smartphones that can be charged in as little as one minute. In August, Samsung touted a new wireless charging capability in its new Galaxy Note 5 and S6 Plus that can fully fill an empty battery in two hours.
