Xiaomi’s Mi 10 Ultra wireless charging can reportedly fill up its 4,500mAh capacity battery in just 40 minutes. That’s a feat that the company says surpasses most phones’ wired recharge capabilities. And it isn’t wrong. At 50W, the charging protocol is actually faster than most fast-charging solutions by more than 22W.
But Xiaomi didn’t just pack in a more powerful wireless charging pad and hope for the best, either. The solution underpinning that charging is as complex as the Mi 10 Ultra 120W wired charging. That charging solution powers the device from nothing to 100-percent in just 23-minutes, according to the company. And it recently took to the Chinese social media site Weibo to outline just how complex its wireless charging is.
Here’s how Mi 10 Ultra uses next-gen hardware right now
There are several key factors behind how the Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra is able to accomplish 50W wireless charging. The first, and most obvious, is one of the same factors behind the 120W charging noted above. Namely, the company switched to a much new charge pump, offering 98.5-percent efficiency. By comparison, last generation’s pumps only achieved around 97-percent efficiency in terms of voltage conversion.
But it also changed how those are laid out in the internal design. Namely, by moving away from two pumps being placed in series. Instead, those are placed parallel to one another.
Each pump is also charging the two cells of the Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra via a newer graphene-based material. That prevents overheating and allows better conductivity.
In terms of the coil receiving all that power, Xiaomi utilized a 5-layer design for the wireless charging hardware. And it keeps that in communication with the charger at all times to better optimize the charging. That likely also helps prevent overheating since the output of the charger can be adjusted on the fly.
Why does this matter?
Battery materials have not, overall, undergone many transformations in the past several years. Instead, companies have consistently worked on the software side to optimize power efficiency. Similarly, OEMs have put bigger batteries in their devices, to begin with. But without a big change to battery technology itself, it’s difficult to improve the user experience on that front.
As a result, manufacturers have turned to faster, more efficient charging. By charging up phones more quickly, it matters less how long the battery lasts between charges. At 50W, Xiaomi’s new wireless charging technology pushes that forward with the most convenient solution yet. In effect, setting a new standard for others to aim for and potentially surpass.