Xiaomi shows the fastest charging phone: full in 5 minutes

The Xiaomi Redmi brand shows in a video how to charge a smartphone with a 4100 mAh battery in just under 5 minutes. The battery is 20% full in just over a minute and a half after 2 minutes and 12 seconds. On the video, the peak is 290W by the way.

It is no coincidence that the demonstration with a 300 W load came out today. Chinese competitor Realme will announce the international launch of its new smartphone with 240W charging later today.

At Xiaomi it is not yet a phone that really hits the market. For the demonstration, the manufacturer is using a modified version of its recently released Redmi Note 12, which can charge at 210W as standard.

Battery improvements

The device uses powerful battery cells made of new carbon materials, which means the electrodes are 35% thinner. The electrolyte formula has also been improved. The result is a lithium-ion battery with higher power density and faster charge and discharge speed.

Xiaomi apparently knows how to keep the amount of heat released while charging within limits. Between the thin battery cells are thermal materials in a new design, which should optimize heat dissipation. According to Xiaomi, more than 50 functions are built into the charging system to monitor current, voltage and temperature on each charging chip.

The company hasn’t yet shared numbers on how many charge cycles are possible with this charging technique, so the implications for battery life aren’t yet clear.

Loading race between Chinese brands

The major Chinese phone brands in particular have been competing for a few years with their fast charging techniques. For example, Oppo also showed off a smartphone with 240W charging last year. Realme is part of the same parent company as Oppo and OnePlus.

Manufacturers from other countries are much less concerned with the topic of fast charging. New Galaxy S23 from the South Korean Samsung, for example, only charges with 25W, and the Plus and Ultra models with 45W. THE iPhone 14 charges with a separately available charger with a maximum of 20W.