University researchers have invented a display that uses very little electricity, claiming it could spell the end of needing to recharge smartphones once a day.

Oxford University's Peiman Hosseini has discovered a way of making displays that can be viewed in direct sunlight using electrical impulses rather than a constant current of energy.

Around 90 per cent of a battery's energy goes into powering the screen, and it is these electrical pulses that change colour and allow the display to work.

But Bodle claimed the smart display would be as sharp as current displays, saying the technology is based on that used in rewritable DVDs.

"You have to charge smartwatches every night, which is slowing adoption," the Bodle Technologies founder and engineer told the Telegraph. "If you had a smartwatch or smart glass that didn't need much power, you could recharge it just once a week."

The technology is still in the early stages of development, but Hosseini's company, the firm behind the invention, could have a prototype ready by next year, saying the materials used to make the screen are well known and are already used in commercial production.

The firm is in talks with a number of manufacturers about the technology, but said it was not at liberty to divulge names for legal reasons.