Innovation in smartphones is reaching saturation when it comes to adding new features. This is one major reason why smartphone makers are now focusing on improving the already existing features, such as the charging technology. Recently, Xiaomi teased its 100W Super Charge Turbo technology, and now, Vivo has announced a 120w fast charging technology.
On Thursday, Weibo took to Twitter to announce its 120W Super Flash fast charging tech. Moreover, Vivo’s 120w fast charging technology is claimed to charge a phone with a 4,000mAh battery in just 13 minutes. A video posted on Weibo by a Vivo product manager shows a phone getting charged from 10% to 14% in just about 16 seconds.
This new Vivo tech is much faster than any other charging tech on the market. Vivo’s 120w fast charging technology is three times faster than Huawei’s 40 watt charging tech seen in the Mate 20 Pro and P30 Pro. Huawei’s 40 watt charging tech charges the Mate 20 Pro and P30 Pro in about an hour.
Vivo’s charging tech is also more than two times faster than Oppo’s 50w Super VOOC charging. Oppo’s Find X Lamborghini Edition features a 3,400mAh battery and uses a Super VOOC charger, which completely charges it in 35 minutes. OnePlus, on the other hand, offers Dash Charge 30.
Xiaomi also recently teased a 100 watt fast charging tech in a video showing it charging a 4,000mAh battery completely in just 17 minutes. Xiaomi has still to ship the charging tech on a commercial device.
Until now, the best charging tech from Vivo is the 44W charging, which powers its iQOO gaming phone. The handset features a 4,000mAh battery, and it reaches full charge in 45 minutes.
Vivo has not shared any information regarding the release date of its new charging tech. However, the Chinese company used the “Vivo 5G” hashtag in the post announcing the new charging tech. This seems to suggest that Vivo’s new charging would accompany its 5G device.
Vivo may share more details about its Super FlashCharge 120W tech and its first 5G device at next week’s MWC Shanghai, which is scheduled to start on June 26.
Talking of Vivo’s first 5G phone, not much is known, but there are rumors that it could be the production variant of the Apex 2019 concept phone, which the company showcased earlier this year. The concept phone featured an all-display design with no notch or punch-hole. The handset features a rear dual camera setup.
Vivo’s Apex 2019 concept phone has no physical buttons or port openings, and features a “Super Unibody” curved glass design. There is no headphone jack and no USB-C port either. There is, however, a small opening at the bottom edge that is likely for the microphone. On the rear, the phone has connecting pins for charging and transferring data.
Also, the phone features an expanded in-display fingerprint sensor, which gives users more area to unlock the screen. Vivo calls the feature “full-display fingerprint scanning” and claims that it covers almost the full screen. Interestingly, Vivo referred to the last Apex scanner as “half-display” when in reality it was just a third of the screen.
Another new feature that Vivo showcased with the Apex 2019 concept phone was “body soundcasting” technology. Such a technology removes the need for grills as the screen acts as a speaker.
Further, the concept phone adds support for Jovi AI Assistant along with other smart functions as well. To make space for the 5G module, the Apex 2019 uses a new Duplex PCB Design. This new design increases the available space by 20%. The handset is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X50 5G modem and features 12GB RAM and 256GB of storage.
What’s surprising about the concept’s phone design is the absence of the selfie camera. There is no pop-up module or second screen to offer the front camera functionality. While showcasing the concept phone, the Chinese company said it wants users to focus on other innovations in the Apex 2019 concept.
Separately, Oppo plans to release its first under-display camera smartphone at the MWC. Possibly, the Vivo Apex 2019 could also feature a similar tech for the selfie camera. Hopefully, we will get more information on Vivo’s 5G phone and the new charging tech at the upcoming Mobile World Congress 2019 Shanghai exhibition.
