Hence why they are called “Blood Vessels”
Previously, OnePlus teased the OnePlus 11 Concept which seemingly featured backlighting in a fashion similar to Nothing Phone’s. Although, unlike the Luna, the lights at the back of the OnePlus 11 has a different purpose deviating from the notification glyph LED the latter has.
The phone has been officially unveiled in MWC 2023 and now OnePlus revealed the real purpose of this glass back to which they teased as an “industry-first” concept. These are not lights. Rather, they are a cooling system modeled after liquid cooling tubes found on gaming computers.
“Over the years, mobile phones have become so much more than a device to connect with others. Modern smartphones are now impressive powerhouses that rival full-fledged computers. They enable countless heavy use case scenarios from gaming to content creation and everything in between.” OnePlus said in their blog.
OnePlus said that there are currently two methods to cool down a phone while using it on heavy gaming or other tasks. The first is passive cooling which most smartphones use and the other is active cooling which are commonly seen in gaming phones. This type installs a visible cooling device, such as fans, to the phone. This method is inspired from the cooling solutions found on desktops.
The problem with active cooling, OnePlus believed, is that smartphones do not have enough room to properly install active cooling devices and the noise generated as well as the weight prevented their continuous development… until the company created their own solution.
The company’ solution is called Active Cryoflux. Sounds quite nerdy and sci-fi but it’s a pretty cool and catchy name for such a one-off solution. This system is comprised of two piezoelectric micropumps connected to a series of tubes sandwiched between the upper and lower diaphragms. You could see this in action because that’s what those so-called “lighting” at the back are described. The piezoelectric micropumps are usually reserved only for industrial use, power up the pipes that deliver the icy liquid that dissipate heat. Hence the name “Cryoflux”.
This method reduces the weight and thickness needed for the phone because they are just lines and tubes. In fact, only 0.2mm thickness were added after the tubes are installed.
The company is very proud of this method as they have 30 patents for the Active Cryoflux alone. Their brilliant engineers took a page to how liquid-cooled PCs work and then embed it to a phone. It took over 18 processes and 97 key control process points just for this cooling to be conceptualized.
During gameplay tests, OnePlus noted that the Active Cryoflux can reduce up to 2.1°C temperatures and improves frame rate by 3-4fps. Also, OnePlus presented how this tech also benefits the phone while charging. While charging, the Active Cryoflux dissipated 1.6°C temperature and trimmed 30-45s of charging time. A hotter phone means higher chances of damage to the battery which may lead to performance throttling, bloated phones, or exploding batteries.
While this is just a concept, OnePlus mentioned how this tech works. A user can set up a heat threshold and once that specific threshold is met, the Cryoflux will do its magic and cool the phone without the use of fans or extra cooling plates. The OnePlus 11 Concept has an “engineer mode” that allows users to modify how the Cryoflux should work.
As this is just phase 1 of the concept, OnePlus cannot guarantee its availability to consumers, just like their first concept phone, the Concept One.
Source: OnePlus
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