Credit: Eric Zeman / Android Authority
- Xiaomi has announced on social media that the Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra and Mi 11 Pro will feature a new battery technology.
- The phone’s battery will apparently be a silicon-oxygen anode. This differs from the lithium-ion batteries common in most smartphones.
- This is supposed to allow the battery to charge faster and, at the same time, be physically thinner.
We are just a few days away from Xiaomi’s next major smartphone launch. At the event, we expect to see the two most sophisticated entries in the Mi 11 series, namely the Mi 11 Pro and the super powerful Mi 11 Ultra.
Obviously, both phones will be similar to the Xiaomi Mi 11, which was launched in late 2020 (and which we have already reviewed). However, there will be a big internal difference for phones. Today, global spokesperson for Xiaomi’s senior product marketing manager revealed on Twitter that phones will feature a new type of battery technology.
Related: We asked, you told us: Do you think the Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra is on fire
In contrast to the usual lithium-ion batteries that we see on almost every smartphone today, the Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra and Mi 11 Pro will include silicon-oxygen anode batteries. This is a newer type of battery technology first developed at Technion – Israel Institute of Technology in the late 2000s. Supposedly, this would allow smartphone batteries to be thinner than they normally are, while allowing that load faster.
Xiaomi says that this battery technology is similar to what you see in electric vehicles (EVs).
Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra and Mi 11 Pro: Game changes?
This is an interesting development, as almost all smartphone batteries are lithium-ion models since nickel-metal hydride batteries lost popularity in the late 90s. If the technology succeeds in the Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra and Mi 11 Pro, this can change the industry.
Of course, it is very possible that Xiaomi may still include a typical lithium-ion battery in phones that is simply increased by a Si-O battery. If that is the case, these phones can be a test for the technology.
Xiaomi will launch both phones on March 29. Stay tuned!