Solar powered mobiles

Adam Elgar

May 20, 2014

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Adam Elgar

Apple has a new patent on solar panels in mobiles Darrell Etherington questions whether this is "key tech". In my opinion, the answer is "yes". The cost of solar power production is falling precipitously (see chart) and the power requirements of technology is similarly falling fast.

We've had them in calculators for ages...

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This is a key tech if Apple were ever genuinely interested in building a solar-powered iPhone or iPad. Given the output of solar-powered devices currently, and the immense power-requirements of mobile devices that feature high-quality displays, it seems very unlikely the company will introduce a fully solar-powered iOS gadget anytime soon, but this could also act as a supplemental tech that helps extend battery life rather than replace charging altogether.

http://techcrunch.com/2014/05/20/apple-patents-solar-panels-integrated-into-flexible-touch-displays/