Apple Files Patent For Hydrogen Fuel Cell Tech To Power Smartphones And Tablets For ‘Weeks’

Our mobile devices offer us a plethora of great features, but I think most would agree that one we'd all like to see is vastly improved battery-life. It doesn't matter the smartphone model; any new one will tout excellent battery-life, but in reality, if a phone can't last more than a single day after regular use, what makes it so great? If you forget to charge your phone overnight, you'll definitely have something to say about that.

It's no surprise, then, that companies like Apple are constantly looking for better solutions. With a newly granted patent, the company has an interesting solution to our age-old problem: fuel cells.

Could future iPhones be powered by fuel cells?

It's difficult to imagine fuel cells being used in our mobile devices, but once you realize the kind of benefits they can provide, it's hard to resist wanting this technology to become a reality as soon as possible. Instead of lasting just a single day, our mobile devices could last weeks. So too could something like the MacBook. Or how about the Apple Watch? It sure would be nice to be able to wear one of those for a few weeks without having to fuss over charging it back up.

The patent emphasizes the fact that this technology is not going to be easy to pull off, and Apple isn't even sure which chemical will be the go-to - although it seems like hydrogen might be the most likely solution. As with all patents, there's no guarantee that this one will even come to fruition. The challenges could prove too tough, and caveats could creep up along the way.

All we know for sure at this point is that this technology would make our lives a lot easier, especially as our mobile device collections grow.