Back in 2015 we published the Battle of the fast chargers, our first test of fast charging technologies. Back then a typical USB brick delivered only 5W and the most powerful charger tested topped out at 25W. Let’s just say that things have progressed since.
The fastest charging system we have reviewed belongs to the Black Shark 4, whose power brick pumps out 120W and can fully fill the 4,500 mAh battery in 19 minutes.
The Infinix Concept Phone 2021 demonstrates the 160W Ultra Flash Charge system
Now we have in our hands a concept device that promises to cut the charging time almost in half – the Infinix Concept Phone 2021 comes with a 160W Ultra Flash Charge power brick that aims to fill the 4,000 mAh battery in just 10 minutes, all while observing strict safety protocols.
Yes, the battery has a slightly smaller capacity, but it has a different internal structure too – it’s an 8C battery. We won’t dig too much into it now, but the C-rate numbers indicate the maximum amperage at which you can charge or discharge a battery.
And the power brick does output quite a bit of amperage, it tops out at 20V and 8A to reach the maximum of 160W of power. We call it a brick, but the charger itself uses GaN (gallium nitride) and SiC (silicon carbide) components that make it quite compact for its output. It weighs under 200g, which is way less than a typical laptop charger in the 100+ Watt class. This Infinix charger supports multiple protocols, so it can indeed charge laptops too.
The 160W charger tops out at 20V and 8A
The Infinix Concept Phone is also a demonstration vehicle for a couple of other technologies that the company is working on. One is immediately visible when you plug in the phone – a line of green light connects the USB-C port and the circle in the middle of the “NOW” stencil on the back. It pulsates while the phone charges.
This is a piece of electroluminescent film that can serve as an interesting alternative to the now mostly extinct notification LEDs. It’s thin, but covers a large portion of the back, much larger than can easily be covered with traditional LEDs.
The phone can undergo another visual transformation thanks to the solid electrochromic film. The back of the phone is normally a slate gray color, though it shifts slightly as light hits it at different angles. However, the phone can turn the back a light blue color.
Infinix has positioned this as a sort of notification system – if you have a missed call, your phone will be blue. Actually, it starts turning blue as soon as the phone starts ringing.
This concept phone demonstrates technologies that Infinix is developing for future products
As the name makes it clear, this is a concept device, it is a demonstrator of the Ultra Flash Charge technology as well was the chameleon back. So, that is what we will be testing – how fast can the battery hit 100% charge?
While this device will never be sold to the public, its charging system may be featured in upcoming Infinix flagships. What about the glowing, color-changing back? That too perhaps, though we don’t have any solid info. But we will be sharing our thoughts and test findings from our time with the Infinix Concept Phone 2021 soon.