One of the everyday concerns we all have is battery life. Since you can’t fly here in Europe without a vaccination certificate or negative test results, a flat phone is a pretty safe way of not being able to fly at all.

• All those years later, as battery technology has improved, the demands on battery life are higher than ever: huge displays with higher refresh rates, 5G modems, higher powered devices, bigger silicon, more cameras, and so on.
• On the other hand, ROMs are better at managing loads, and the SoC design offers more lower-powered CPUs in newer models.
• There is also more careful charging that charges the batteries to 80% to extend their lifespan over the years, even if that means a few hours less standby time or screen on time.

Fast charging at higher watts was also one of the answers:

• There is no extension of your phone’s charging time.
• However, if it only takes a few minutes of on-time to add 50% or more, you have less range concerns.

The problem:

• Ultra-fast charging solutions affect battery health over time.
• The problem is chemistry: faster charging generates more heat, which can break down elements of battery chemistry, especially in the electrodes, more quickly.
• Regardless of how many battery breakthroughs there are, most come with tradeoffs in terms of long-term battery life, how much charge can be stored, etc. So many laboratory-level breakthroughs fail to make it into production due to cost or revenue issues.
• We all remember the Note 7 disaster and, on a larger scale, the recent fallout of GM’s Chevy Bolt battery with LG (Ars-Technica).
• Risk aversion is a very real thing for manufacturers, from smartphones to electric vehicles.
• Speaking of which: Thanks to sugar, there is a breakthrough in battery technology: Australian scientists have found that they have succeeded in stabilizing lithium-sulfur battery technology by using a glucose-based additive on the positive electrode (cathode). That could make batteries 2-4x more efficient, but it will take about five years or so to develop (Tech-Xplore).

Xiaomi’s latest:

• Xiaomi will launch the Mi 11T series this week, one day after the next iPhone launch.
• The iPhone will likely stay wired at 18W, like the iPhone 12, although it could get a speed boost.
• Xiaomi brings the Mi 11T Pro with 120 W wired charging, which can be charged from 0 to 100% in around 23 minutes.
• But that generates heat and can mean your beautiful flagship won’t hold a charge in a year or two.
• However, Xiaomi has given a clear picture: Xiaomi’s head of communications Daniel Desjarlais said Mi 11T owners can expect 80% battery capacity after 800 charging cycles at these speeds, which corresponds to about two years of plug-in charging.
• He said, “Well, that 20% might sound like, ‘Oh wow, I’m losing 20%,’ but that’s pretty much standard across all charging technologies. 800 cycles, for most people it will take about two years. So that’s pretty solid. “
• Is it anyway?
• Slower loading definitely means less deterioration. If you believe competitors Oppo has previously claimed that its 65W wired charging solution, which is still very fast, loses 9% of its capacity after 800 charging cycles.
• It’s a compromise. The ideal situation would be very tight management: sometimes you only have a few minutes to recharge. Most of the time, however, you will only charge overnight.