While some may be disappointed that Apple would not replace the 27-inch iMac with Apple Silicon, today’s most intriguing rumor suggests that the company is creating its own battery technology – and may launch its own designs into mobile devices as early as 2025.
Effort of Apple in Battery Technology
We know Apple has put effort into battery technology. Soonho Ahn, Samsung’s senior vice president of next generation batteries and materials innovation, was hired in 2018.
Ahn remained as the Global Head of Battery Developments for three years before moving on to become the CTO of Volkswagen’s battery division.
As Ahn’s departure demonstrates, Apple is not alone in its efforts to develop more advanced, low-cost battery technologies.
Their advancement is critical since the number of gadgets that rely on batteries is increasing at an exponential rate.
While there is a lot of battery research going on, bringing new designs to market appears to be a slow process.
But Apple has the clout to make it happen; not only can it make new technology ubiquitous with a single livestreamed event, but it also has the cash and commitment to carbon-neutral manufacture to take the risk.
So, What’s the Big News?
According to Korea’s ET News, citing “industry sources,” Apple is working across the battery design process to create something never previously commercialized.
It emphasizes the use of clever new designs to get more out of common battery components like nickel or cobalt.
It appears to imply that the company has discovered new conductive materials capable of improving battery performance.
At its most basic, the report implies that Apple wishes to develop batteries that charge faster and last longer.
Race in Battery Manufacturing
The report is not without legs. After all, Apple patent filings this year revealed that the company was collaborating with US government researchers on something called Synergistic Additives for High Volume Lithium Ion Batteries.
That patent also mentioned the use of new materials to increase usable battery life and speed up the charging cycle.
Adding some substance to the gruel, we can see that the use of new substrates and conductive materials is very popular in the industry.
Especially since the publication of MIT research revealing that it is possible to accelerate lithium charging speed by changing the substrate surrounding the battery.
There appears to be a quiet race toward such technology, so there’s no reason Apple wouldn’t be involved as well. After all, it manufactures millions of battery-powered devices.
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