If there were a few things you could tweak about your mobile phone, chances are a better battery life would top the list. Sure, the things we can do with these pocket-sized computers is nothing short of astounding, but as the quality of new devices seems to improve each year, the battery life of even the most advanced phones stays nearly the same.
Of course Apple dove into this well-known issue and has been looking into a battery that could power up a phone, or even a laptop, for weeks. The tech giant’s new patent, filed in March and published on September 3, describes a “fuel cell system for a portable computing device.”
Apple's patent for a fuel cell system for a portable computing device.
The patent envisions a system consisting of a fuel cell, which converts fuel to electrical power, an interface to the portable computing device (which would be a smartphone or laptop), and a controller that monitors the state of the fuel cell while, obviously, controlling it.
Though Apple has submitted plenty of patent applications in the past that we have yet to see, this one seems especially broad. One example would be that it mentions a variety of possible fuel sources, from lithium hydride and water mix to liquid hydrogen. The patent also says that it’s “extremely challenging” to design portable, cost-effective hydrogen fuel cell systems. Of course, a patent filing doesn’t mean we’ll soon see a product using the technology.
But for the time being, this idea is fun, and interesting, to dream about. Maybe, just maybe, we’ll see a fuel cell iPhone sooner rather than later.
Do you think this type of technology will exist anytime soon? Let us know your thoughts — leave a comment below.
Source: Mashable
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