Forget AI – the iPhone 16 upgrade I want is Realme’s new four-and-a-half-minute fast charging
We’ve been hit by a barrage of hype about AI for smartphones lately, from Gemini Live to Apple Intelligence for phones like the upcoming iPhone 16—but a new, lightning-fast charging technology just demonstrated by Chinese brand RealMe is arguably more exciting for many phone users than the latest AI developments.
As spotted by The Verge, RealMe has announced on X (formerly Twitter) the development of a new, record-breaking 320W SuperSonic Charge technology. In the video demo, the technology charges a smartphone from 1% to 100% in just four and a half minutes – fast enough for a full charge while you drink your morning coffee.
These incredible charging speeds are possible thanks to some technology at both ends of the pipeline. One of them is a 4,420mAh battery that’s split into four cells, each with a “folded” design (which Realme says was inspired by foldable solar panels) and connected by a flexible charging board.
320W SuperSonic Charge officially launched today! Click the video to learn more about the technology behind it and see how long it takes to fully charge a phone!#realme828Fanfest #320WFastestCharge pic.twitter.com/osefpxcRlT14 August 2024
If you’re worried about the potential safety implications of this incredibly fast charging, Realme says the device has that covered – the setup apparently charges at a maximum of 20V to reduce heat and make it as safe as standard chargers.
On the other end of the cable is Realme’s Pocket Cannon charger, which offers a total output of 320W and has two USB-C ports that can supply 150W to compatible smartphones. The only downside is that there are no smartphones that officially support the new charging system yet, but we expect that to change soon.
The arms race in fast charging
As someone considering upgrading to an iPhone 16 Pro, these advancements in fast charging excite me more than most AI-powered software features I’ve seen so far.
Many of Apple Intelligence’s best features, like the improved Siri, may not be available until 2025, whereas I could use some of the new fast-charging features right away—all without the looming threat of a future subscription.
According to Apple, the current fast-charging estimate for iPhones (starting with iPhone 8) says you can get “up to 50 percent battery in about 30 minutes.” One could argue that the returns diminish from there—in many situations, you only need an emergency charge—but advances in battery performance are still a useful quality improvement.
This is an area that the leading Chinese smartphone brands have been competing for recently. The Realme GT 3 made great strides with its impressive 240W speed, while Xiaomi set new records last year with its 300W charger, which charged a phone from empty to 100% in four minutes and 54 seconds.
While there are questions about the longevity of the batteries that can use this ultra-fast charging technology, it will be interesting to see if Apple and the major Android players adopt a version of it. In fact, we’ve argued before that the speeds offered by Realme ruined the iPhone and Samsung Galaxy series for us.
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