Oppo has unveiled new fast charging solutions for mobiles said to set a new record for speed - but it's not yet clear if New Zealanders will be able to use them.
The Chinese phone manufacturer revealed its 150W SUPERVOOC charger at the World Mobile Congress in Barcelona this week as well as a new proof of concept 240W charger that promises to charge a phone from one percent to 100 percent in about nine minutes.
The 150W SUPERVOOC will be able to charge a 4500mAh battery from one percent to 50 percent in just five minutes, with a full charge taking 15 minutes, the company said. It also has what Oppo calls a Battery Health Engine (BHE), which is designed to help maintain battery life - hoping to address one of the major concerns over fast charging.
Oppo says batteries will maintain 80 percent of their original capacity after as many as 1600 charges. For someone who charges their mobile every day, that's over four years.
Xiaomi, which unveiled its own super-fast charging solution last year, said its technology was designed for batteries to retain up to 80 percent of their capacities for 800 charging cycles.
If Oppo's claims prove accurate, this would make its battery life around three times longer than that of Apple's iPhone, in which a normal battery is said to last up to 500 charges while retaining 80 percent capacity.
One of the concerns for New Zealand consumers, however, will be if the new devices make it to market here.
At the time of Xiaomi's announcement, it said its 120W charger was "unlikely" to come to New Zealand due to stringent electrical safety regulations for chargers.
An Oppo NZ spokesperson wasn't able to confirm to Newshub if, or when, the SUPERVOOC chargers would be available in Aotearoa.
Jeff Zhang, chief charging technology scientist at Oppo, said users' expectations were developing as fast as the technology itself.
"Oppo has prioritised the overall charging experience while leading the development of flash charge technologies," he said.
"We will continue to push the limits of high-power flash charge technologies, actively tackling emerging issues such as the deterioration of battery health, and providing users with safe, efficient, smart, and fast charging solutions that go beyond speed."
Oppo's 150W SUPERVOOC uses a battery health algorithm and battery healing technology which are said to work together to improve battery health, safety and performance by optimising the hardware and software.
BHE will be integrated into most mid-to-high-end Oppo and OnePlus phones in the future, the company said.
It's first going to be available in the OnePlus 10 Pro, which is virtually identical to its recently announced Oppo Find X5 Pro, due in New Zealand later this month.
That hopefully indicates the ability to use 150W fast charging will be available here, should the chargers themselves make it to market.
In the meantime, the already available 80W SUPERVOOC charger is designed to charge the new Find X5 Pro from empty to 50 percent in 12 minutes.
The 240W proof of concept charger has five safety protection measures as well as a specially customised intelligent control chip that controls the voltage, current, and temperature to deliver what Oppo says is a safe charging solution.
A customised battery safety monitoring chip monitors whether the battery of the mobile phone is damaged by external forces when in use and temperature protection is enhanced via 13 temperature sensors in the phone.
