Charging your phone is one of the most consistent annoyances of the modern world. The good news is that it might be about to get marginally less annoying - not because batteries are getting better (they are, but gradually) but because charging might get faster.
A new concept device pitched by Israeli startup StoreDot claims to be able to charge a phone from 0% to 100% in less than 30 seconds.
The idea was shown for the first time at Microsoft's Think Next event in Tel Aviv on Monday. It uses microscopic magnets ("nanodots") to hold and transmit the charge to your phone, which is powered in mere seconds.
The downsides, though, are obvious. First the device is just a prototype. Second, you'll have to actually charge the charger, meaning unless you're efficiently charging your charging devices, the problem just moves down a rung.
Oh, and it doesn't work with current smartphones, because it's too big.
That aside, it's really neat. And with $6.5 million in funding you wouldn't get against StoreDot coming up with something neat - or at least getting bought by Google, Apple or Microsoft pretty sharpish.