Xiaomi is making a concerted effort to launch mobile phones with solid-state batteries before Samsung does
It looks like Xiaomi is making progress towards introducing phones powered by solid-state batteries before Samsung. Even if Xiaomi doesn’t manage to take the lead over the Korean tech giant, they are still attempting to make people aware of their advancements in mobile battery technology.
Xiaomi recently unveiled its Xiaomi 13 prototype smartphone, which is reportedly powered by a solid-state battery. Although the company has yet to reveal the device, they have shared slides and purported specs and performance figures. These figures are very impressive and if accurate, they could give us a glimpse of what the future holds for solid-state batteries in mobile devices.
For many years, Samsung has been hard at work on solid-state battery technology, however, no one is quite ready to produce them on a large scale. It remains to be seen which company will be the first to do so, but Samsung began to display these batteries as far back as 2013. In fact, Samsung has been researching this technology for over ten years and in 2013, showed off a working prototype and pointed out its advantages.
Xiaomi may not have been the first to announce solid-state batteries, but they seem to be making strides in the technology. According to slides and renders recently revealed by the company, some of their prototypes have achieved an energy density of 1,000Wh/L, meaning that a battery with 6,000mAh capacity can fit into a space usually occupied by 4,500mAh lithium-ion batteries.
Solid-state batteries offer a significant capacity increase of around 33%, as well as being much safer than lithium-ion batteries. They don’t have the risk of exploding or igniting when punctured, which makes them a much better option. According to Xiaomi, these batteries can also offer 20% more energy when in cold temperatures of -20 degrees celsius.
Despite all the buzz, Xiaomi is still not prepared to manufacture the prototype solid-state batteries. Nevertheless, Samsung appears to have a rival in this category, which may hasten the advancement of all the companies working on it.
Samsung is working on a pilot production line for solid-state batteries, aiming to finish it by the end of the first quarter. Though initially this line will be used to produce batteries for electric vehicles, Samsung SDI hopes to apply this technology to mobile phones and tablets as well. We can expect to see the first solid-state battery powered smartphones being released before the end of the decade.
Source: Sammobile
