Will you soon be able to fully charge up your smartphone in 5 minutes?

CHINESE manufacturer Xiaomi has demonstrated that a smartphone can get a full charge in less than 5 minutes, a world first. This was able to happen thanks to an unprecedented 300W charger prototype that could soon lead to future retail models, once this solution is perfectly secure.

Competition among Chinese manufacturers is heating up in the race for fastest charging. Xiaomi now takes the lead ahead of Realme, Vivo and OnePlus with this 300W charger prototype capable of fully charging a smartphone in just under five minutes.

This feat was achieved on a modified Redmi Note 12 Pro+, exceptionally equipped with a 4,100mAh battery.

However, such power doesn't come without safety concerns. That's why Xiaomi plans to integrate about 50 special features specifically designed to monitor the voltage or temperature of the device and thus prevent any risk of dangerous overheating.

Also according to Xiaomi, a future ultra-powerful charger won't necessarily be bigger than today's 210W charging standard, available for the Redmi Note 12.

This model currently has the fastest-charging capabilities on the market, at just 9 minutes. The upcoming Realme GT Neo 5 is expected to do at least as well with its 240W charger.

In this area, Chinese manufacturers are far ahead of Samsung and Apple, who still favor 45W and 30W chargers respectively.

However, there can be good reasons for such choices, given that the more powerful a charge is, the more the battery's life and number of charge cycles are affected.

While this new fast-charging technology is very exciting on paper, it nevertheless carries a risk, that of degrading the battery of one's smartphone more quickly.