You probably already complain about the battery life on your smartphone, but wait until you get a wearable. If you have one, you know the deal — most of these devices barely last a day.
Samsung and LG, two companies heavily committed to the wearables market, have a big incentive to improve that. The two companies showcased new innovations at an exhibition in Seoul, South Korea, which could not only improve battery life on wearables such as smartwatches, but that might also be used for newer types of wearables.
Samsung SDI, which is a unit of Samsung Electronics, showed off new stripe and band-type batteries. The stripe battery is only 0.3mm thick and is made with fiber, which gives it more flexibility over existing bendable batteries. It could be used for necklaces and hair bands.
The band-type battery is aimed at smartwatches, but necklaces and hair bands aren’t out of the question. The main feature here is that it could increase battery life on smartwatches by as much as 50 percent. It has also been tested to withstand over 50,000 bendings.
LG Chem was also at the event. This division of LG Electronics showcased a wire battery that can be folded in half. The company also showed a hexagonal-shaped battery that it originally announced in June. LG Chem says that each of these batteries will double the battery life on smartwatches.
There is no word on when these batteries might debut in devices, but the fact that they were shown means that next year is a good bet. With most smartwatches only yielding one day of battery life, these new batteries can’t come soon enough. Plus. I very much desire a hair band that can tell me when someone has texted me.
