We all know that Apple is pro-environment, boasting environmentally friendly materials used for the construction of their products, so despite the fact that there are now rumors that Apple and Samsung are looking into building solar powered devices, we can’t say that it’s not too big a stretch of the imagination.
According to Digitimes, it seems that both companies have been “evaluating” solar technologies to power future products, focusing particularly on organic photovoltaic cells, a technology that yields a lower sunlight-to-electricity conversion ratio than large solar panels, but at the same time can be fitted into small gadgets, which we’re guessing won’t require a huge amount of power anyway.
Samsung already has a couple of solar-powered devices, most recently with their Android-powered Replenish smartphone and their upcoming NC215S netbook. Apple on the other hand does not have any solar-powered products yet but have a couple of patents filed away with concerns to solar technology.
No word on when we will start seeing this technology being implemented, it is noteworthy that given the organic nature of photovoltaic cells, the degradation may cause the cells to lose their efficiency over time, which could in turn affect the warranty of the device.