Ugh! Cell phones always die when you need them the most. But it looks like a British tech company has got a solution for the next generation of iPhone users, that is!
Intelligent Energy has developed their own iPhone 6 prototype which they have used to develop a battery that could save us all. Their model fuses both a rechargeable battery and a hydrogen-based energy supplier. According to The Telegraph, the British firm's technology reportedly creates energy by combining hydrogen and oxygen while producing very small amounts of water and heat as waste. The energy-efficient modification is said to keep your iPhone juiced for a week. Woohoo!
Apple users, no need to worry about the look and feel of your dear iPhone, for the mobile mock-up is said to don the same sleek and slender frame with no alteration to size or shape. However, the hydrogen-powered fuel cell will operate will "breathing" vents for the energy efficient device. The Telelgraph further explains, "The only cosmetic differences compared with other handsets are rear vents so an imperceptible amount of water vapour can escape."
View photos of the iPhone prototype at The Telegraph.
Intelligent Energy claims this major alteration to a cellphone will be the first of its kind. "To our knowledge this has never been done before," said Henri Winand, chief executive of Intelligent Energy.
"We have now managed to make a fuel cell so thin we can fit it to the existing chassis without alterations and retaining the rechargeable battery. This is a major step because if you are moving to a new technology you have to give people a path they are comfortable with," Winand added.
The new hydrogen-based energy source will have the ability to be refuelled via an adapted headphone socket. So the trade off may be lack of music while your phone gains some bars? Seems doable.
Intelligent Energy is in the throws of creating a disposable cartridge that would slot into the bottom of future smartphones, which contains enough hydrogen-releasing powder to last a full week.
Awesome. So it also looks like future iPhones will not need the wall-socket charger either? Double whammy!
It is rumored Intelligent Energy and Apple are working together, however Winand and Apple declined to address the collaboration at this time. On the flip-side, IE's corporate finance chief, Mark Lawson-Statham said, "Our view is that this is a couple of years out but really it's about how quickly does our partner want to press the button and get on with it?"
Now that would be good...