Samsung could have found a technology to boost the capacity of the traditional lithium-ion battery. Using a substance called “graphene ball,” the Korea firm claims the lithium-ion batteries could be made to last longer and charge faster. So, there are wild guesses that the Samsung Note 9 and S9 may feature longer battery life, thanks to this new technology.
Graphene ball – makes all the difference
Samsung’s research arm – Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology (SAIT) – claims that it has successfully synthesized a “graphene ball” in the battery that will help boost their capacity by 45% and push the charging speed up by five times. The graphene ball has to be placed inside the traditional battery to better its performance.
This marks another use of this material that is already part of several exciting projects like detecting cancer, purifying seawater and more.
Graphene, the strongest material ever tested, contains a single layer of carbon atoms. The existence of such a substance has been known for decades, but not until recently were scientists able to produce it. Scientists are exploring various other applications of graphene, which is a highly conductive and durable substance. In April of this year, a Korean research team used the material to develop an OLED display, notes ZDNet.
If what Samsung claims turns out to be true, it will be a big welcome change for smartphone users, who know the pain of waiting for the battery to juice up. Even though we have proprietary techs like OnePlus’s Dash Charge and Huawei’s SuperCharge, the charging time is always above an hour, notes Digital Trends. However, with the use of graphene ball, the charging time will go drastically down, i.e., around 12 minutes. In addition, it won’t impact the cell’s lifespan as a graphene coating would protect them from the friction of fast charging.
Will it be ready for the Samsung’s Note 9 and S9?
Samsung has patented the technology in the U.S. and South Korea, and published the full findings in this month’s edition of Nature. It is clear that the technology is still in its initial stages, so it’s highly unlikely that it will appear on any major devices next year, but you never know. The cash-rich Korean firm may ready the tech just in time for the Samsung Note 9 and S9 to give them an edge over devices from Apple. Nevertheless, the potential impact of the technology on future Samsung phones would a big differentiating factor.
Further, Samsung hopes to the use the technology in electric cars, which need batteries that last long, charges up quickly, and suffers minimum performance loss as they age.
“Fast charging capability is considered critical to the successful adoption of all-electric vehicles by the public,” the Korean firm said in its research.
Separately, there are reports that Samsung has already started the production of its next year’s flagship – the Galaxy S9. So, there are good chances that the handset could be introduced at next year’s MWC (Mobile World Congress). According to SamMobile, the handset would have comparatively less bezel than its S8 predecessor, and possibly a screen-to-body ratio of 90% (up from 84% on the Galaxy S8).
