I Just Saw The Future Of Smartphones And It Involves Solar

Infinix came to Mobile World Congress with a slew of interesting concepts to show off. Including its new Solar Energy Reserving Technology, which I got a chance to demo and experience myself, here in Barcelona.

Essentially, Infinix has included an efficient solar panel on the back of this phone. Which allows it to charge under light and sun. This means you don’t necessarily need sunlight to charge the phone. Now, it is solar, which means it’s not a fast charging product, at about 2W. It’s more meant to help with standby time versus charging your phone from 0 to 100%.

It does use perovskite solar cells, which allows it to be thinner and cheaper compared to traditional solar panels. It also uses a system that helps regulate voltage to help keep the phone cool, even while it’s charging under sunlight; this is called Maximum Power Point Tracking.

I was able to see this in action, and it works pretty well. There is an LED on the back that lights up when the phone is charging with solar, while most ambient light won’t be enough to charge the phone, if you get enough sunlight from a window, that should do the trick.

This is less concept, and more practical

I couldn’t help but draw comparisons between this and the Lenovo Solar PC Concept that I also saw this week. Infinix is basically doing the same thing, but on a much smaller scale, obviously. Like Lenovo’s concept, this concept from Infinix is definitely pretty practical. In fact, Infinix’s representatives told me that the phone charged in their bag at MWC, thanks to the heat from other phones in the bag, which is pretty impressive. And you’d also be able to charge your phone while walking down the street, if there’s enough sun.

This solar-powered phone concept could be a game-changer for urban commuters in cities like New York and San Francisco. Imagine charging your device during your morning walk or while sitting near a window, ensuring you arrive at work with a fully charged laptop. It’s an exciting glimpse into how portable technology might evolve in the coming years.

That’s not all, though. Infinix also put this tech into a case for their upcoming Note 50 Pro smartphone, which allows it to charge the phone. However, it is a bit slower since it is a case instead of being built into the phone by itself. Theoretically, Infinix could make cases for their other phones to make this work with them, which would be super cool. Though, I’m sure the case would cost quite a bit more. The case itself is not very thick, which is fairly impressive.