Samsung

Samsung apparently wants to use graphene batteries as early as next year

Ben Schoon | Aug 14 2019 - 8:05 am PT

One of the biggest things holding back what our smartphones are capable of right now is battery technology. One promising development has been graphene batteries, but they’ve yet to make it to a consumer smartphone. Apparently, Samsung wants to use graphene batteries in a device as early as 2020.

According to Evan Blass, the reliable leaker also known by his Twitter handle, @evleaks, says that Samsung wants to have at least one handset using this new battery technology within the next two years. This isn’t a firm goal, however, as Samsung wants it to happen in either 2020 or 2021. There’s also no clear indication of what smartphone would launch this new technology. For safety reasons alone, it’s probably a good bet that a Galaxy S or Galaxy Note flagship won’t be that first device.

What’s especially exciting about this new battery technology is how fast it can change. Apparently, the graphene batteries that Samsung is testing are capable of fully recharging in under half an hour, a major improvement from what we see now with lithium-ion batteries.

Back in 2017, Samsung highlighted its work with graphene claiming that it could charge up to 5x times faster than lithium-ion. Other advantages of the technology include less degradation over time as well as less weight from the battery overall.

Blass mentions that Samsung’s current roadblock is the capacity of these batteries which is apparently too small. Costs also need to be lowered.

Lithium-ion batteries are…suboptimal. Samsung is hoping to have at least one handset either next year or in 2021, I’m told, which will feature a graphene battery instead. Capable of a full charge in under a half-hour, they still need to raise capacities while lowering costs.