Antonio Villas-Boas/Business Insider
Samsung's new Galaxy Note 10.
- Samsung is rumored to release a smartphone powered by new graphene battery technology that can fully charge in under 30 minutes, according to prolific gadgets leaker Evan Blass.
- Today's smartphones powered by standard lithium-ion batteries that support fast-charging can charge in about an hour and a half.
- Samsung announced in 2017 that it was developing its graphene battery technology, saying that it would, in theory, only take 12 minutes to fully charge a battery.
- The biggest question is whether graphene batteries can extend the battery life in smartphones.
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Samsung will release a smartphone powered by new graphene battery technology that can fully charge in under 30 minutes in 2020, or possibly 2021, according to prolific gadgets leaker Evan Blass on Twitter.
Today's smartphones powered by traditional lithium-ion batteries can typically fully charge in about an hour and a half. The fastest charging I've heard about is Samsung's 45W charger for the Galaxy Note 10, which the company says can fully charge the phone in an hour. At this stage, Samsung's claim is still a claim, and it has yet to be tested.
In his tweet, Blass said: "Lithium-ion batteries are ... suboptimal. Samsung is hoping to have at least one handset either next year or in 2021, I'm told, which will feature a graphene battery instead. Capable of a full charge in under a half-hour, they still need to raise capacities while lowering costs."
Samsung
A microscopic view of the graphene material in Samsung's graphene batteries.
In 2017, Samsung announced that it was developing its graphene battery technology, saying: "In theory ... [a graphene battery] requires only 12 minutes to fully charge."
The new technology includes a single layer of carbon atoms from graphite, known as graphene, which is "100 times more effective than copper in conducting electricity." It also transfers energy "140 times faster" than silicon used in current lithium technology, which makes it "an ideal material for fast charge," according to Samsung's 2017 announcement.
There's no telling just yet if graphene batteries in smartphones can offer longer battery life. So far, most smartphones need to be charged daily to ensure a full day's battery life, with some phones able to last two days at maximum.