Why the hell doesn't anyone solve the battery problem on smartphones?

This week rumors emerged about a possible significant battery improvement the next iPhone. This is one of the aspects most expected by users and what possibly leaves most to be desired, every year.

Lithium ion battery

The battery today is one of the great technology bottlenecks. In the past few decades we have been awarded Moore's Law, which says that the number of transistors on a chip doubles every two years. This resulted in a huge expansion in the processing capacity of computers. With each launch of a new iPhone, iPad or Mac, new technologies are added that make the devices increasingly powerful.

But the battery life keeps crawling. Estimates say the autonomy growth in the order of 5% per year. How, then, is it possible that no revolutionary technology has emerged in recent years that could accelerate battery development? What are these MIT engineers or Apple's research and development team doing, for example, who are unable to significantly improve this aspect?

The problem with current batteries

The batteries present in today's smartphones and notebooks are made of lithium ons. Lithium is the lightest element in the periodic table that is still solid at room temperature. Therefore, the perfect material for storing energy. In the past, batteries were made of lead or nickel, much heavier.

If the lithium is the lightest element, then we reach a maximum level of the size / capacity ratio. Nowadays, the battery life of smartphones is directly linked to its size or power management. To increase the duration, there are only two solutions: increase the size of the battery or update the hardware / software to improve the use of energy.

Graph with chemical elements - Battery

It is not possible to store or extract more energy from the chemical reaction without increasing the size of the device. And it is not possible to charge the device faster without overheating it. The higher the recharge speed, the greater the electric current and the more energy dissipated in the form of heat. The result of this could be an explosion.

But then why does anyone find a solution?

First, what they are not looking for. We have already talked here about various initiatives, from graphene batteries, which allow charging in 15 minutes, to new technologies that expand the useful life for more than 20 years. Only, there is a big difference between laboratory testing and mass consumption. When scaling production, the results are different.

Develop a new battery on how to write a code. It takes years and years of research and testing to get anything on the market. If we take into account that batteries are practically bombs, any wrong calculation can result in catastrophe.

Another important aspect is cost. The extremely smart smartphone market price sensitive. Manufacturers struggle with suppliers for discounts and better conditions to purchase parts such as processor, screen, memory and camera. The battery itself is already an expensive component. Any significant price increase would directly result in the companies' profit margin, or else in the final price that we pay as consumers.

Solving this problem would be a work for startups. But the other issue is: venture investment funds do not want to make investments in startups of batteries. Very large initial capital is needed, not a very scalable business because it depends on labor / material and the risk of failure very high. it is much easier, advantageous and safe to invest in a social network or a SaaS (software as a service). Energy is a very difficult market to enter.

So that?

A possible solution to alleviate the problem would be to wireless recharge (wireless charging). There is no lack of rumors that Apple will add this technology to the next iPhone. The question remains whether it is inductive (requiring contact with a base) or really without any contact. If it is the second option, Apple would be a pioneer in applying this technology to smartphones.

Main player in the wireless charging scenario the startup top secret called uBeam. Their great promise is that you can actually recharge anything while away from a base. At the beginning of the month they made the first public demonstration of this technology, but the device that sends the energy to the device was very large. I can't imagine how it would fit on a table.

Wirelessly recharge a phone over the air. Wow. 1 The 1 public demonstration already done (by) @ubeam #UpfrontSummit

In a few years, this article will seem hilarious. Certainly there will be a revolution in this regard and, like everything in technology, we will look back and say: “Obviously. It couldn't be different! ”

I look forward to the battery update on the next iPhone. I think all of us.