Battery life is a major concern for smartphone manufacturers, who need to combine enhanced performance and capability with a practical battery life of at least an average day. Market leader Apple are purportedly looking into new ways of powering their iPhones that will make them last longer without excessively increasing the size of the internal battery, which has been a major problem for manufacturers over the past year as they have to use larger batteries, ruining the ideal slim phone aesthetic. Mobileinquirer.com report that Apple have now obtained two fuel cell battery patent application proposals, initially filed in 2012.
This fuel cell technology “is rumoured to enable a much higher density of volumetric and gravimetic energy densities”. In layman’s terms, the batteries could last for hours, or even days without needing to be recharged. The hydrogen technology that Apple hope to utilise via these patents is based on renewable energy, which also helps Apple look good in an eco-friendly sense. Hydrogen fuel cells batteries are lightweight, and moving towards this kind of power source is a definite pointed step away from the use of fossil fuels and provides a few points in Apple’s favour.
If Apple succeed in this development it could be a major step forward in terms of renewable energy sources for newly released mobile phones, especially if other manufacturers are able to share in the advancements. In time we could be using smartphones and other mobile devices that are almost entirely eco-friendly, benefitting the environment as well as consumers with the longer battery life. However, this all depends on how willing Apple will be in the future to share their technological developments with other major manufacturers; the world of smartphones is becoming more and more competitive with each passing day, and as they are currently struggling to stay on top of the heap Apple will probably be unwilling to risk sharing an edge they may develop.>