OPPO is reportedly preparing to launch a new iteration of its SuperVOOC 3.0 charing, enabling up to 80W power delivery. The new technology, allegedly leaked via the Chinese social media site Weibo, will be ready by some point in 2021.
As of right now, OPPO’s fastest SuperVOOC-branded charging is version 2.0 and powers devices at up to 65W. That’s capable of delivering brilliant results. Even with comparatively large batteries such as those found in the Ace2, Find X2 and X2 Pro.
The Realme X50 Pro, built by OPPO’s subsidiary, is a great example of that capability. The device uses the same charging under the “SuperDart Flash Charge” branding. Under review, it filled up that Realme device’s 4,200mAh capacity battery to full from completely dead in just over 30-minutes. A similar story can be told about the other gadgets listed above. In some cases, for smaller batteries, the charging is even faster.
A 15W increase for SuperVOOC 3.0 in 2021 could set new standards
Tacking in another 15W could potentially be monumental. If OPPO manages to maintain onto the steady rate at 80W, just as it has with 65W charging in previous devices, the timeframe could feasibly be reduced to around 20-minutes. It may even be able to push the time down below that mark.
Just a year ago, charging a phone in under an hour was all but entirely out-of-the-question. That changed as faster-charging was introduced, pushing the limits to 65W. But even 65W fast charging is still not standard. Most OEMs stick to speeds well under that. So, if OPPO can deliver on 80W charging promises, it could effectively set a new standard.
To begin with, it could force OEMs to spend more time considering 65W charging. At the very least, companies might be forced to follow suit in order to give off the impression that they are making an effort to keep up.
Other companies might have something to say about this
OPPO, although more than capable of leading the charge on charging, does have some competition in that space. One of the most prominent examples is its long-time rival Xiaomi. That’s via a technology the Chinese tech giant calls “100W Super Charge Turbo.”
As the branding implies, Xiaomi’s solution leaves SuperVOOC 3.0 80W charging well-behind. But it also comes with several issues preventing its use in real-world devices. The biggest of those could easily be discovered with 80W charging too, potentially preventing its release in the above-mentioned 2021 timeframe. Namely, charging at these high rates can and does — at least for now — damage overall battery capacity.
Problems with voltage, security, performance, and addressing a multitude of “charging scenarios” still exist as well for 100W charging. That’s all according to the chief of Xiaomi subsidiary Redmi. So, unless OPPO has discovered a solution to those kinds of problems, 80W charging might be just out of reach for the time being. Otherwise, it may result in damaged devices and reputation-diminishing complaints.
There’s been no indication as to which OPPO device or devices if any 80W charging might be introduced with.