Mobile Technology

Kyocera's solar-powered display could soon be topping up your phone battery

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There's a solar-powered charging panel behind this phone's touchscreen, and the technology is almost ready for launch
David Nield/Gizmag
There's a solar-powered charging panel behind this phone's touchscreen, and the technology is almost ready for launch
David Nield/Gizmag
The 0.55 mm photovoltaic component adds barely any weight or thickness to the phone (the rugged case is optional)
David Nield/Gizmag
Kyocera says a 3 minute burst of direct sunlight will give you 1 minute of talk time
David Nield/Gizmag
Kyocera specializes in rugged phones for the outdoors, but the SunPartner panel can be used in almost any device
David Nield/Gizmag
View gallery - 4 images

Those of you with very good memories might remember Kyocera showing off a solar-powered smartphone display at last year's Mobile World Congress. Well, the company has returned in 2016 with a much-improved prototype, and says that this type of technology could start appearing in consumer phones in the near future.

The Kyocera rep we spoke to on the show floor in Barcelona couldn't be any more specific than that, but he did say the tech is almost ready to go, and much closer to officially launching than it was in 2015. It uses a 0.55 mm-thin pane that sits between the display and its touchscreen layer, giving you a battery charge that equates to 1 minute of talk time for every 3 minutes of direct sunlight – that's an 8x efficiency improvement from the demo model Kyocera brought to MWC last year.

French firm SunPartner is responsible for the solar-soaking panel, which is called the WYSIPS (What You See Is Photovoltaic Surface). SunPartner says the "design-neutral" component can work with any type of phone: Kyocera itself specializes in rugged, outdoor handsets, but the chunky case you see on the phone in our hands-on pictures is nothing to do with the solar charging.

Kyocera says a 3 minute burst of direct sunlight will give you 1 minute of talk time
David Nield/Gizmag

Kyocera's MWC team told us that the company envisages these phones being used by those working outdoors or on remote sites, as well as anyone else who's going to be away from a power source for an extended period of time (think campers or skiers). The technology isn't (yet) designed to replace your wall charger – it's not fast or efficient enough for that – but it will keep your phone topped up in standby mode and give you an alternative emergency charging option if your mobile dies far from home.

Another area where Kyocera and SunPartner have improved the technology is in the display's transparency. The darker (less transparent) the panel, the more efficient it is at converting sunlight into energy, but you'd quickly lose sight of your apps and incoming emails. At 85 percent transparency, Kyocera and SunPartner think they've found the right balance between visual appearance and charging performance.

We had a quick look at the prototype 5-inch Android handset at Kyocera's MWC stand and unless you were looking for it you'd be hard pressed to notice the screen was darker at all. The extra photovoltaic layer has no effect on touchscreen responsiveness, and adds virtually no heft or weight either. It feels like any other smartphone.

The same technology can be applied to smaller or larger screens too (up to 13 inches) and so it's likely to find its way into smartwatches, tablets and other devices too. What's more, it can work even if just a third or a half of the screen is in sunlight.

View gallery - 4 images
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5 comments
VoiceofReason
They make great stuff. Owned several different models and love them. They do phones other companies don't. The brigadier is one they got right, 2 years old and still looks new. Which is saying something as I can be unintenionally hard on things. Super tough, nearly waterproof, and built in wireless charging when almost no one included it. Nice move Kyo!
tapasmonkey
I think anybody in an outdoors situation as mentioned, skiers, hikers etc, are likely to have their phones mostly safely stowed away in their pockets, rather than out in the sun.
It's a great idea, but I'd imagine that the technology would be better deployed on something constantly exposed to the sun, such as ski goggles, vehicle windscreens etc.
bergamot69
Wonder how many of these will get lost pretty quickly, having been left out in the sun and forgotten? Or worse, stolen?
Wouldn't it be better to have a fold-out PV panel on the back, so the phone could retain a fully transparent screen (ideally scratchproof) so the phone could be stored face down when charging from the sun- increasing the PV surface area, and possibly facilitating a built-in membrane keyboard for data input on the reverse?
Bob Flint
Ice skates in a coal mine....
pmshah
If the solar panel is just behind the display what is at the back of the phone as shown in image number 4 in the gallery ? Is that a secondary cell or wireless charging coil?