There’s no point in sugar-coating it: lithium-ion batteries just can’t keep up with our power demands nowadays, especially when it comes to smartphones. Charing up our most vital gadgets every day or every two days can get old fast, but the good news is that several companies are working on developing better batteries, including Sony. You might not know this, but Sony actually released the very first commercial Li-ion battery. Their next-gen solutions are going to rely on sulfur-based electrodes, which will reportedly last up to 40 percent longer when compared to what we have in our phones today.
The problem with lithium-sulfur cells is that sulfur usually degrades very quickly, which doesn’t make it viable for commercial use. However, Sony’s experts are probably close to solving this problem, which means that we should expect to see palpable results in the next few years. Moreover, the company is also working on magnesium-sulfur batteries that would be cheaper, longer-lasting and a lot safer as lithium-based products are known to become a fire risk after reaching a certain age. The problem with these battery improvement promises is that they’re scheduled to become available in 2020, which is worrying. Phones are becoming more powerful every year, and even though chips are designed with energy-efficiency in mind nowadays, current battery designs are likely to reach their limits a lot sooner than 2020.
