Smartphones that charge in five minutes could be available next year

Smartphone batteries that charge in five minutes could be available next year, according to a firm developing the technology. The FlashBattery is designed to charge from empty to full capacity in around the time it takes to boil a kettle, or about one hundred times faster than the average smartphone. The Israeli firm behind the battery first unveiled its technology in 2014, before showcasing a more slim-lined version at the Consumer Electronics Show tech show in Las Vegas eight months later in early 2015. Doron Myersdorf, the CEO of StoreDot, told BBC News that mass production will begin by early 2018. The batteries have shorter lives than those currently available in smartphones, but the firm believes the speed at which they are juiced up means this isn't a problem.