News

Get Ready To Charge Your Phone In 30 Seconds

by Alicia Lu
David Ramos/Getty Images News/Getty Images

They say that in the future, everything will be instant. You'll be able to cook a turkey in minutes, travel across the country in a flash, and maybe even charge your phone in 30 seconds. These scenarios might sound like the distant future, but one of them might be here sooner than you think. Tech company StoreDot is developing a phone charger that will charge your smartphone in 30 seconds. That's right — no more talking awkwardly on your phone while it's plugged in, and no more fighting with other people at Starbucks who are only there for the outlets. But don't throw out your current chargers just yet; the magical charger won't be ready until 2017 at the earliest.

Israel-based StoreDot unveiled a new prototype for the charger this week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. It's a sleeker and more refined version than the iteration the company debuted last year at Microsoft's Think Next Conference in Tel Aviv, where they demonstrated their product by charging a Samsung Galaxy S4 in 30 seconds, undoubtedly blowing several people's minds.

What's even more astounding is that the company didn't initially intend to create a phone charger. In fact, StoreDot is a nanotechnology company that is working to improve everything from TV displays to nanomedicine. The company has been building semiconductors with its Nanodot technology, which are made up of bioorganic peptide molecules. During its research, the company found that peptides could also help charge a phone battery.

Typical battery chargers use an electrolyte to generate electrons, but StoreDot's quantum dot nanocrystal solution is five times more powerful, and therefore drastically reduces charging time. Right now, the charger is far from being market ready since the 40 amps of electricity it supplies would fry most phones. But the company hopes to make its product compatible with existing devices by 2017.

If and when it does become available, the 30-second charger will be a game changer. The act of charging your phone will be a whole new thing — or should I say, it will no longer be a thing. It'll be as simple as reapplying your chapstick. If 30 seconds is still too long for you, here are a few things you can do to help pass the time.

Images: StoreDot