NEW DELHI: Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi claims to have built battery charging technology for smartphones that can charge a 4000 mAh battery in 8 minutes. The company hasn’t said much about the technology, except showing a video demo via Twitter. It’s called the Xiaomi HyperCharge and uses 200W charging to achieve these speeds. Xiaomi claimed that the same battery would be charged in 15 minutes using 120W wireless charging.
The technology is likely an update on another that Xiaomi had showcased last year. At the time, the company claimed that it could charge a 4000 mAh battery in 17 minutes using a 100W system. It’s unclear whether Xiaomi will use this new technology on its 2021 devices. The Mi 11 Ultra, launched in India earlier this year, has a 67W charger in-box and takes about 40-45 minutes to charge its 5000 mAh battery completely. This though, was a downgrade from last year’s Mi 10 Ultra, which used a 120W charging unit to charge its 4500 mAh battery in under 30 minutes.
Smartphone battery technology hasn’t grown as fast as other technologies used in these devices. As a result, charging speeds have become a major differentiating factor amongst device manufacturers, especially those from China. Companies like Oppo, Vivo, Realme and many others have showcased fast charging technologies in the past, and routinely make these the standout feature for their phones.
Of course, tests are usually conducted under ideal circumstances, meaning the practical results may not be the same. In addition, these technologies also require specialized equipment, meaning users will have to buy them from the manufacturers themselves. For instance, as we saw in our review of the Mi 11 Ultra, the phone charges extremely slow when you use chargers not made by Xiaomi. While the video here shows 10% battery in 44 seconds, the Mi 11 Ultra charged to just about the same amount in about half an hour with third-party chargers like the Pixel charger.
