Infinix officially launched its Infinix Concept Phone 2021, which comes with two significant features: 160W ultrafast battery charging and a color-changing back cover.
Since battery life is the #2 consumer concern right after camera quality, any improvement in battery capacity, charging speed, or endurance is of colossal importance. As you may know, battery capacity is currently maxing out around 5000 mAh, and the progress in energy density is relatively slow.
That’s why the industry improves charging speed, with ever-increasing charging Wattage. Last year, Qualcomm announced its 100W charging with Quick Charge 5.0, but Infinix has successfully demonstrated its 160W charging.
We have tested it by depleting the 4000 mAh battery completely, and after hooking the phone to the 160W charger, it went from 0% to 93% in 10mn with the dynamic back-cover ON and blinking, so that would be a 0% to 100% in 10mn with that feature OFF, as recommended by Infinix. More on the back cover below.
The technical specs point out that there are 20 sensors to keep the charging safe and avoid any overheating danger. The phone felt mildly warm by the end, but nowhere near the warmest (and slower) charging we experienced before.
By all indications, Infinix took the well-established dual-charging principle and extended it to quad-charging, effectively using four charging controllers simultaneously.
"THE 160W CHARGING USER EXPERIENCE IS UNPARALLELED, AND THAT IS HOW EVERY PHONE SHOULD CHARGE!"In any case, this is extraordinary for two reasons. First, the 160W charging user experience is unparalleled, and that is how every phone should charge! The charts below show that what this phone doesn’t have in battery capacity, it more than makes up for in charge speed.
Secondly, such charging speeds could lessen the need for huge batteries. In my experience, a quick charge before going on the road or into an event can be more effective than a large battery. Replenishing a battery in minutes could impact the size, cost, and environmental footprint of smartphones.
It’s not clear how far away we are from mass availability but for now, having to wait 30-45+ minutes for a full charge seems completely barbaric.
Dynamic back cover
Infinix calls this a “color-changing technology back cover,” and it consists of having a light-emitting material that can change colors. It is not a display, so the “NOW” pattern design is not customizable. If you are curious, “NOW” refers to Infinix’s “THE FUTURE IS NOW” brand behind this concept phone.
As far as we know, there are three colors: grey (inactive), blue (active), and green (active). The technology is based on electrochromism: when an electric current is applied to a material, the color and opacity of said material change.
Design aside, Infinix is using this capability for notification purposes. For example, an incoming call might trigger a different color combination. When charging, the center flashes in green to notify the user of the ongoing charging process.