The fast-charging arms race has been well and truly on for the past few years, with various OEMs pushing the limit with almost every smartphone release. Last year, Infinix showcased its concept phone which had various futuristic technologies, but the best of them all was its impressive 160W fast-charging system.
According to Infinix, the fast-charging technology on the 2021 concept phone could fill the battery from 0 to 100% in just 10 minutes flat. Basically, you only need to put your phone in the charger for a quick bathroom break or a shower, and you will come back to it when it is fully charged.
For 2022, the company is now back with an even faster fast-charging standard. In a 10-second teaser posted on Facebook, we see a phone being plugged in and its charging percentage going up by almost 1% in the short duration of the clip.
Infinix calls this new system Thunder Charge, and it currently has a peak power rating of 180W.
However, despite these impressive feats of fast charging that Infinix is displaying, their current fastest charging smartphone available to the public is the Infinix Note 12 VIP, which supports 120W charging.
With the phone’s battery rated at 4500 mAh, it can go from 0 to 100% in 17 minutes, which is still impressive despite being almost double the time of the 2021 concept phone.
At the end of the day, Infinix already manufacturing concept phones and prototypes that support these super-fast charging speeds means it is only a matter of time before they make their way to the mass market.
The main limiting factor of fast charging is normally high temperatures. For the 2021 concept phone, Infinix fitted 20 sensors that ensured the temperature never rose above 40 degrees Celsius when being charged.
When the temperature neared this 40 degrees limit, the charging speed was throttled to keep the rising temperature under control. This means that you could only get near the stipulated 10 minutes mark when charging under conditions that are cool. In high temperatures, your phone’s charging speed would be compromised.
The moment OEMs figure out ways to keep temperatures down when fast charging, then these super-fast charging speeds that feel absurd at the moment will become the new normal.
