At MWC 2016, which takes place in Barcelona from 22 to 25 February 2016, the company Kyocera has demonstrated a prototype of a secure smartphone with built-in solar battery. Earlier phones with solar cells on the back panel even went on sale, but this concept uses a different design.
The solar panel is located between the LCD and the touchscreen. The prototype was created in collaboration with French company Sunpartner Technologies, specializing in solar technologies.
According to Sunpartner, three minutes in the sun the phone will receive enough energy for a minute of conversation, whereas the previous design required a 10 minute “charging” for two minutes of conversation. By itself, the smartphone has a 5-inch display and runs on customized version of Android.