Xiaomi unveiled a new charging breakthrough that lets you charge your phone from empty to full within the blink of an eye!
Well… that’s not exactly true but it charges your phone from nothing to full in just eight minutes, which is still lightning fast. Xiaomi calls this charging tech “Hyper Charge” and this new conceptual charging technology comes in two forms: wired and wireless.
Charging your phone through a cable lets you charge your phone from zero to full in eight minutes while charging it via wireless charging lets you take an empty battery to full in 15 minutes.
Xiaomi even tested the charging themselves as it indeed looked like “too good to be true”. The device in question is a Mi 11 Pro Custom build.
While this number is indeed impressive, there are still worries of overcharging, damaging the battery, overheating or shortening battery lifespan. So we will discuss it here
How Fast Charging Works:
Fast charging, as the name implies, lets you charge your phone in blazing speeds. Fast charging works in two ways: First it will release a huge amount of current to an empty or nearly empty battery, which gives the ultra fast 50% in less than 15 or 30 minutes, before reaching its peak voltage. If you’re worried about overcharging, fret not, as this sudden release of current will not damage your battery in the long run. When it reaches a certain percentage, say 80% then charging will slow down to not overwhelm the battery. Phones are smart enough these days to determine how much charging there is left.
Battery tech has not improved since the last decade and preservation of battery life is done on software-based measures. Such as power saving, limiting background processes and closing unused apps. Unfortunately, most battery tech priorities go to other products such as cars, industrial products and smart home appliances. Phone batteries have a long way to go before their improvement. Though, there are manufacturers such as Samsung who have patented a graphene-based battery, which, unlike Lithium Ion batteries, is based on a solid particle, thus making the battery last longer and have longer lifespans during its charging cycles.
Fast charging will only damage your battery if your phone uses a substandard charger and brick, or has no safety mechanism to stop the sudden voltage charge from fast chargers, which in turn could swell up and overheat the battery. Also, some chargers like Xiaomi’s Hype Charge above, need proprietary cables and charging bricks. A 67W charger will only let you charge 67W of power instead of the advertised 200W. The tech Xiaomi implemented is still new, and even then, 65W fast charging is usually more than enough.
One important thing to note is that the higher the current, the more heat is induced, therefore, higher-rated fast chargers, such as 120W chargers, pump up more heat. Prolonged exposure to heat can damage the battery and shorten lifespan. To counter this, make sure you’re charging your phone in a cool, dry place, possibly at room temperature, to avoid overheating.
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