At the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Oppo unveils two ultra-powerful chargers, 150 watts (W) and 240 W. One will be released in 2022 and can charge a smartphone in 15 minutes, the other will arrive later and goes under the bar of 9 minutes.
Not really fashionable among the historical manufacturers that are Apple and Samsung, ultra-fast charging is very popular with Chinese brands. Since 2018, Oppo, Xiaomi and Huawei have wanted to charge their smartphones as quickly as possible. Xiaomi now markets smartphones compatible with 120 watts (W) charging, while Oppo goes up to 80 W.
At the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Oppo wants to let its rival know that it won’t leave it in first place for too long. It announces a 150 W charger, ready to be marketed, and another of 240 W, designed to be the fastest in the world.
9 minutes to go from 0 to 100%
From 2022, Oppo should launch a first smartphone compatible with 150 W charging. It should be a OnePlus mobile, the two brands having formalized their merger last year (they have always belonged to the same group). Its 4500 mAh battery should recharge in 15 minutes thanks to an innovative technology that recharges two cells at low voltage, so as not to deteriorate the device too quickly (at least in theory).
Later, Oppo wants to hit even harder. Its 240 W “SuperVOOC” charger should reduce charging time from 15 to 9 minutes, with the aim of completely changing the way you use your smartphone. Indeed, the fear of 0% should no longer exist in such conditions. 3 minutes on the charger should be enough to recover 50% (we saw a working prototype in Barcelona). However, one can wonder if the manufacturers are not going too far. 9 minutes, 15 minutes or 30 minutes, isn’t that fast enough already? Will they be able to resist the temptation to go even higher?
A few months ago, Xiaomi announced a prototype of a charger with a power of 200 W. We imagine that it will not take long to respond to Oppo’s 240 W, surely with a 250 W charger (we have seen 65, 66 and 67 W in the past). As for the wear and tear of our smartphones with such power, only the future will be able to answer this question. The manufacturers ensure that there is no risk, these last three years tend to prove them right, but there will necessarily be a limit.