In the early days of smartphones, they competed for battery life king status by just chucking in larger and larger batteries. A bigger battery meant better battery life and it was as simple as that.
Apple did not run this race, they believed in creating lean software and optimising their hardware so as to eke out more from smaller batteries.
They had to do this because for a while they were stubborn, saying the perfectly sized smartphone had a 4-inch screen. This small form factor limited the size of battery they could use. It’s crazy that of their latest iPhone 14 range, the smallest has a 6.1-inch screen. They were super wrong.
The Android contingent competed on size but we knew the day would come when they could not keep doing that. For as much as we appreciated bigger screens and bigger batteries, phones started approaching tablet territory. Nobody wants a 7-inch smartphone, that’s too massive.
These less-than-6.8-inch beasts we have now top out at 6000mAh batteries for the most part. Most have 5000mAh cells.
When battery physical size could no longer be increased, manufacturers had to start thinking about lean software, efficient chips and charging speeds.
Apple had longer to solve this puzzle and as their phones got bigger, they started competing and beating the best when it comes to battery life. All this despite having smaller batteries.
That’s well and good for how long a phone can last between charges but the charging experience is part of the battery experience too. A phone that lasts long but takes 2 hours to top up can be annoying to use. Especially in Zimbabwe where a power cut can strike without warning.
The Chinese have been leading the charging speed race for years. Last year we saw the OnePlus launch with 150W charging. You can charge the 4500mAh battery in that phone from 0-100% in under 17 minutes. You need 2 hours to top up an iPhone 14 Pro Max and 59 minutes for the Galaxy S23 Ultra.
240W hits the market
Last year, OnePlus’ parent OPPO announced a proof-of-concept charging standard that gets to an eye-watering 240W. For context, the iPhone 14 Pros top out at 27W and the recently announced Galaxy S23 Ultra only manages 45W.
It’s no longer a concept. 240W fast charging is now on a phone that’s for sale – the Realme GT Neo 5. It is ridiculously fast.
The phone in question comes with a 4600mAh battery and you can top it up to 20% in just 80 seconds, 50% in 4 minutes, and 100% in under 10 minutes. 0-100 in less than 10 minutes my friend.
I can only imagine how that would ease my battery anxiety. Knowing that I can play with my phone all I want and should I mess around and deplete the battery, I only need 10 minutes to top it up again would be a game changer.
I feel like even if this phone lasts 1 hour less per charge than the iPhone 14 Pro Max, it provides a better experience than the iPhone which would need to be plugged in for 2 hours to get back to 100%.
We talked more about what this kind of fast charging means here: Fully charge your phone in 9 minutes? OPPO says why not with 240W fast charging
14 comments
Yah oppo phones can charge super fast ,the only problem is they are not popular in zimbabwe such that if u have one and you broke it spares are hard to get i used to own oppo R7 plus when the lcd was shattered that was the end of it
I know the struggle. I still have an LG phone and even before LG quit the smartphone business, you couldn’t find accessories, let alone parts for this phone in Zim.
I will wait until my beloved Samsung brand catches up “soon”. Look guys, never under-estimate the power of brand loyalty! You must be dreaming to even think that people will jump on to Oppo just because of fast charging haaa not in my lifetime kkkkkk. Kwese TV had “nothing” else to offer except for payment in rtgs 🤣🤣🤣. Let me stop here.
I totally get why people are loyal to certain brands. I myself had very good experiences with Samsung and even though I haven’t used one in a years, I still feel like a Sammy user.
You’re right, this kind of fast charging will make it to the Galaxies in due time. That’s the same kind of argument we’ve heard from Apple fans, they don’t mind getting a lot of features years after we’ve played with them on Android. They are loyal to their brand.
l’m staying away from anything writen Oppo, l had a bad experience 😑
Fast charging does not trump everything else. One bad device can sour you to a whole brand. You’re not the first to talk about having bad experiences with Oppo and so I’m starting to wonder what’s going on there.
This is type of phone power users dream of at night. Because what’s most important is how long it will take to charge your phone. An all day battery is meaniless if takes hours to fully charge. It’s also a mental brake stopping you from taking full advantage of the capabilities of your phone because you always subconsciously thinking about how long it will take to charge the phone.
I can’t wait until the technology is widespread and available on Samsung or itel(🤢) phones
100% agree. Unless you have a power bank with you, you are never really comfortable using your slow-charge phone, especially once it gets below 30% on battery. This sucks at events and family gatherings. You are always aware that if you deplete the battery you will have to be stuck near a power outlet, if available, for a long time. Especially annoying when you can’t trust that the phone won’t be stolen if you leave it charging there. You’ll miss out on the activities and conversations you went for. But popping out for 10 minutes is doable, barely an inconvenience.
240W in 10mins sounds like a hybrid battery. A mix of a super capacitor + a lithium battery. A supercapacitor can charge in 30 seconds, while lithium has amperage.
I’m not surprised. Electric cars can now charge in 15 mins with a 250km range. So yes, I was expecting phones to go the same route. It’s just that all of a sudden there are breakthrough developments in battery tech like the use of sulphur, aluminum and ultra-capacitors.
Well said
A wise man with a cat once said he loved a ‘sh*t, shower and shave’ status phone (Flossy fans, you know the procedures). 240w charging goes well beyond this benchmark! It’s a major go on charge speed alone, and if the price isn’t TGH and the os isn’t trash, throw another major on top!
That’s the catch here. Flossy would agree, the fast charging is a major go. The price is just right for what it packs. The OS is a different matter. You’ll either love it or hate it, you won’t be neutral. So, the phone itself is not exciting, what’s exciting is its fast charging. Fingers crossed it comes to those other brands we love.
Not only does the phone shine on charging time. It seems to be loaded RAM and storage wise including the capability to play hi-res audio. Talking about hi-res audio, isn’t it time we touched on that subject?