Will the future of smartphones pass through Li-Fi technology? Oppo is considering this possibility if we believe the patents unearthed by LetsGoDigital. According to the American media, the Chinese manufacturer is working on a smartphone embedding this technology.
Oppo is working on a smartphone with Li-Fi connection. // Source: Frandroid
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Have you ever heard of Li-Fi technology? While Wi-Fi uses radio waves to transmit or receive network data, Li-Fi technology uses light. Seen by some as a revolution, this technology does not seem to convince the giants of the sector. In any case, not at the moment.
Still, some brands, like Oppo, seem to be taking a keen interest in it. The site LetsGoDigital has indeed unearthed a patent application filed by the Chinese giant mentioning the integration of Li-Fi technology in a smartphone.
A smartphone with Li-Fi, really a good idea?
On the patent application filed by Oppo, we can observe the presence of a small light sensor on the upper edge of the smartphone and / or on the back. It is through these miniature windows that light could be transmitted to a microchip which would then transform it into a network signal.
Problem: The light must always be on for the signal to be transmitted. Rest assured, Oppo has also filed a patent for an “insulating component” with the World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO) and details how the technology works. In summary, sensors can transform light signals so faint that the human eye cannot see them.
Patent of an Oppo smartphone incorporating Li-Fi technology
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But why bet on Li-Fi when Wi-Fi is working properly? This technology actually has several advantages.
The first, the speed: a Li-Fi signal can reach 8 or 10 Gb / s! Moreover, the company Trulifi has already reached 250 Mb / s. In addition, light being an inexhaustible resource, it does not present no interference problems in crowded environments, such as builders’ conferences for example (we know what we’re talking about). Finally, some observers assure that Li-Fi is more secure than Wi-Fi since it does not cross walls. We can also see this as a defect since it prevents any wireless transmission between routers for example.
This weakness is also accompanied by another problem: the range of a Li-Fi signal is much less than that of a Wi-Fi signal (10 meters against 30 to 46 meters).
If these patents give some indications on the tracks studied by Oppo, nothing guarantees that the manufacturer will one day release a smartphone of its kind.
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