Samsung Could Have a Smartphone With a Graphene Battery by 2021: Report

Smartphone batteries aren't something that we think a lot about beyond the capacity, since that usually gives you an indication of how long the smartphone will last on a full charge. Most smartphones today have lithium-ion batteries, which while capable, are now falling short on capabilities as smartphones are getting more powerful. The solution could be in the smartphone industry adopting graphene batteries, which could be coming to at least one Samsung smartphone by 2021, according to tipster Evan Blass (aka @evleaks).

Graphene batteries on smartphones using Samsung's graphene ball technology have been tipped for some time now, but a new tweet by Evan Blass suggests that it's still some time away. Blass' source suggests that Samsung hopes to have at least one smartphone with a graphene battery by 2021. For the time being, capacities still need to be raised while simultaneously lowering costs, according to the tweet.

The technology is still expensive to develop, but has potential for smartphone batteries for a couple of key reasons. For one, graphene batteries will allow for more capacity in a smaller size, allowing for slim smartphones with compact batteries that can power the phone for longer. Additionally, graphene batteries can be charged much faster, with Blass stating that a full charge could happen in under 30 minutes.

However, the cost of putting such a battery into a smartphone is still too high, and could take a while to come down to reasonable levels. When it does, graphene batteries could finally allow smartphones to achieve greater potential without relying on oversized and heavy lithium ion batteries. However, till then, we're going to have to keep struggling with poor battery life on our smartphones, and slow charging times.