LG Chem announced on Monday that its curved battery is now in mass production and will power the next smartphone lineup from LG Electronics. The battery arm of LG has also been mass producing stepped batteries at its Nanjing facility since July, which currently powers the new flagship LG G2 phone. The news conveniently arrives after LG Display confirmed the mass production of its flexible OLED panel for smartphones earlier this week.
"Stepped Battery refers to an integral type of a battery in which two batteries are added on top of each other in the shape of 'step design'," the company explains. "The battery takes greater advantage of available space within the device than other batteries as it perfectly suits the changing trend of modern IT gadgets of flexible designs."
"For example, recent mobile devices have been adopting round shapes and designs with rear buttons creating unnecessary 'dead space' inside the gadget," the company continues. "With Stepped Batteries, the dead space can be filled up to fully power the handset and also increase the battery capacity. In fact, the battery density has increased the capacity by 16% and also the life span by more than 3 hours when applied to the newly launched LG G2."
The company's Nanjing plant also plans to produce a Stepped Battery that goes beyond 3 step to 4 step designs, depending on customer needs.
Meanwhile, LG Chem seemingly hints to the G Flex on Monday, reporting that the Curved Battery can power devices with curved or flexible designs such as smartphones, watches and glasses. The company says this tech is backed by Stack and Folding patents that reduce the physical stress of battery pack designs with a curved form factor. LG Chem began mass producing this battery in October, conveniently one month before the curved LG G Flex is slated to make its debut.
"Lastly, Cable Battery is applied to IT devices that are bendable, wearable and even be tied into a knot," states LG Chem's press release. "Because it has been designed to use low electricity, the battery does not heat up although the user may operate the device for a long time. Moreover, the waterproof features of the battery allow itself to be used in wearable gadgets regardless of flexible figures, from necklace types to smart watches."
LG Chem plans to showcase the three batteries at the InterBattery 2013 conference held in Korea on October 16.
