Samsung rumored to have phone with graphene battery next year
Researchers believe the material could be used to charge a phone in seconds.
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Samsung recalled the Galaxy Note 7, twice, due to battery fires.
Samsung may be working on an alternative to lithium-ion batteries for its phones . The company hopes to have at least one phone with a graphene battery ready next year or by 2021, according to reporter and frequent Twitter leaker Evan Blass.
"Samsung is hoping to have at least one handset either next year or in 2021, I'm told, which will feature a graphene battery instead," tweeted Blass on Monday. "Capable of a full charge in under a half-hour, they still need to raise capacities while lowering costs."
Samsung didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
Graphene has been touted as a "wonder material" because of its unique properties. In phones, researchers believe graphene batteries could improve energy storage and significantly speed up charging. In 2017, Samsung said its researchers developed a "graphene ball" material that enables five times faster charging speeds than standard lithium-ion batteries.
Samsung may be looking into battery alternatives following its Note 7 fiasco in 2016. Shortly after the Note 7 went on sale, users started reporting overheating problems. Samsung tied the issues to a battery design flaw and recalled all the Note 7 phones on the market. That didn't fix the problem, however, with the replacement devices also overheating. Samsung launched a second recall and stopped manufacturing the Note 7. Following the problems, Samsung changed its testing process for key mobile components and instituted an eight-point inspection process for batteries.
