Charging a phone to 100% in just five minutes with a 300W charger: this is the feat that Xiaomi has just achieved in an impressive video demonstration video. But is it really useful… and risk-free?
How far will the mad race for ultra-fast smartphone charging go? We thought we had reached an extreme limit with Realme, which now offers models capable of refueling in ten minutes (see our article). But its compatriot Xiaomi has decided to go even further: just to mark its technological superiority, the famous manufacturer has published a demonstration video on the Chinese social network Weibo where we see a phone charging to 100% in just five minutes with a 300 W charger. Impressive… and intriguing.
For the occasion, Xiaomi has used not one of its “flagships” as they are called, but a model from its Redmi range, in this case, a Redmi Note 12 Discovery in a modified version, with a battery of 4,100 mAh – compared to 4,980 mAh in the normal version – equipped with special cells – with carbon electrodes, an improved electrolyte and a sandwich structure. As the video shows, the smartphone reaches 20% charge in about a minute, 50% in just over two minutes, and 100% after minutes, leaving the new Realme GT Neo far behind. However, unlike Realme’s system, which is already on the market, there is currently no indication that Xiaomi’s demonstration will lead to a marketed product.
Xiaomi: a charger with a power of 300 W
This feat raises several questions. First, technically. So, Xiaomi doesn’t say anything about the charger, which doesn’t seem huge, or the cables used, which seem oddly thin. Indeed, delivering a power of 300 W on a voltage of 5 V via USB theoretically involves circulating a current of 60 A, which is significantly higher than the 32 A which passes through the large cables used for electric hobs. for example… The USB 3.1 standard authorizes many powers up to 60 W, but the systems offering more are based on proprietary solutions.
Another question: what about security? Xiaomi claims to have implemented around fifty safety devices to avoid any danger, in particular by monitoring overheating, but between the battery, the cable and the charger, the risks still seem high. Not to mention the long-term effect of this lightning charge on the life of the battery… It is probably no coincidence that Apple limits the power of its chargers for iPhone, even if it does not beat speed record.
Finally, and most importantly, does it actually make sense to charge a phone in five minutes. Admittedly, in a world where everything goes very quickly and at a time when many like to have satisfaction instantly, without waiting, one can imagine that some dream of being able to recharge their precious telephone while drinking a coffee. but apart from a few special cases, in situations of extreme urgency, is it really useful and reasonable?