Last week the MWC 2023 was held in Barcelona and, in addition to getting to know very curious mobiles, we also attended presentations of more “traditional” devices such as the Xiaomi 13 or the Honor Magic5 Pro. And this does not mean that they do not bring something new, because precisely Honor has been the first to incorporate silicon and carbon batteries in this new series.
In recent years, lithium-ion batteries have been standardized, but their little room for improvement of this current technology has led to the exploration, development and now implementation of silicon and carbon batteries. And it seems that they are here to stay in view of the advantages they offer.
much more for less
Honor Magic5 Pro, one of the first smartphones with a silicon and carbon battery
The quick and vague summary of what silicon and carbon batteries mean is that; They give much more for less. And not for the art of birlibirloque, but for how their materials perform on the task. Unlike the operation of lithium ion batteries, these use materials that allow for higher energy density (it is said that 12.8% more).
In fact, materials are divided in a certain way laborsince while silicon provides a elderly capacity to store energy, what carbon does is improve the stability and useful life of the battery. Thus, being more specific with the benefits that these batteries will bringWe highlight these points:
- Same size and higher capacity than standardized lithium batteries, which will allow mobiles with the same size as current ones to have a greater capacity.
- Improved energy efficiency making that with good control by the processor and operating system in the long run autonomy is also better.
- More secure in physical terms, since they are less flammable and prone to explosions than lithium batteries.
- more durable than lithium batteries, since they offer a greater number of charge and discharge cycles.
- Cost reduction for manufacturers. As always, whether this is passed on to the consumer will depend on whether or not the manufacturer wants to increase its profit margin. A priori, it should allow mobile phones to be cheaper (or at the same price by reinvesting the money in other technologies).
Not only mobiles will benefit from it; also other devices such as tablets, computers and even electric vehicles.
As you probably already imagined, there will be more devices that benefit from these batteries. Take, for example, the automobile industry, which is already exploring batteries to considerably increase the range of electric vehicles.
Resuming the telephony sector, and with Honor already starting her career, it is expected that in the coming months and years it will become a standard. Although lithium batteries do not seem to be disappearing in the short to medium term, it does seem clear that the advantages of silicon and carbon are interesting enough.
Cover Image | Álvaro García M. with Midjourney