OnePlus’ gigantic rumored battery exhibits w...

I’ve at all times supported the concept of user-replaceable batteries in smartphones, however I do perceive why it makes some sense to make use of non-replaceable ones past simply the income concerned. A totally built-in one generally permits a telephone to be extra compact, or tackle new and strange type elements. By extension, this could additionally improve energy effectivity, since different elements will be positioned and sized extra optimally.

A primary instance of this can be a mysterious, upcoming OnePlus system, rumored to have a large 7,800mAh battery (per Wccftech). That is even bigger than the 6,260mAh one within the

OnePlus 13T
, and it will completely smoke the 5,000 and 4,685mAH batteries within the

Galaxy S25 Ultra
and

iPhone 16 Pro Max
, respectively. In reality, given stories about Apple and Samsung’s upcoming ultra-slim telephones, it feels like it may be as much as corporations like OnePlus to point out the majors easy methods to do batteries appropriately.

What are Apple and Samsung doing incorrect, precisely?

Kind over operate

I’ve touched on this just lately, so I will not go into the total particulars, however the quick model is that Apple’s rumored

iPhone 17 Air
and Samsung’s teased

Galaxy S25 Edge
are every anticipated to sacrifice battery life to realize most thinness. Certainly, the declare from The Information is that inner Apple testing estimates solely 60 to 70% of individuals will be capable of get by way of a full day with out recharging — which is why the corporate can also be rumored to be creating a brand new battery pack, regardless of having discontinued the MagSafe Battery Pack in 2023.

The kicker is that each Apple and Samsung are seemingly utilizing silicon-carbon battery expertise, a latest improve of the lithium-ion batteries we see in all the pieces from smartphones to

electric cars
and PEVs (private electrical autos). The key profit is improved vitality density — so that you’d assume that at a minimal, telephone makers would maintain the road on battery life, merely shrinking their telephones just a little.

As a substitute, Apple and Samsung appear to be prioritizing thinness in any respect prices, for causes that are not solely clear past aesthetics and bragging rights. It has been years since I’ve heard anybody complain about how thick a telephone is, if not a decade or extra. Complaints have trended in the wrong way, I would say — with out a case, some telephones will be so skinny and slippery that they are onerous to grip securely. Even my spouse’s OnePlus 9 5G has that problem. Just a few foldables, like Google’s

Pixel 9 Pro Fold
, are so skinny when open that they really feel like they may bend or snap.

My finest guess is that the businesses are attempting to offset the elevated manufacturing prices of silicon-carbon, however I do not know that this excuse flies in gentle of the OnePlus rumors. That 7,800mAh battery is explicitly claimed to be a silicon-carbon mannequin, making it onerous to grasp why the iPhone 17 Air could not match the 4,685mAh capability of the iPhone 16 Professional Max, by no means thoughts providing worse efficiency than the bottom iPhone 16. Even when the 7,800mAh rumor is fake, the OnePlus 13T’s 6,260mAh battery is a concrete actuality. That telephone launched in April 2025 — one thing coming in Could or later must be in the identical ballpark.

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Getting priorities straight

Or, listening to what prospects really need

Isaac Mehegan / Unsplash

My largest problem is that Apple and Samsung appear to be actively ignoring the longest-running public gripe about smartphones: longevity. Whereas some pre-iPhone gadgets might final a number of days on a cost, it is taken as a right now that you’ll want to cost a telephone every single day. Typically, twice per day is the sensible actuality.

As an experiment, I just lately prevented topping up my iPhone 16 Professional in any respect till bedtime. The consequence was that after roughly 16 hours, my telephone was all the way down to 17% — regardless of my most intense actions being podcasts, some app updates, a Reuters video briefing, and some rounds of Wordle and Phrases With Buddies. Apple claims that the telephone ought to be able to 22 hours of continuous streaming video. That is pure fantasy, but supposedly two hours higher than the iPhone 15 Professional. I won’t be capable of address the iPhone 17 Air beneath every day circumstances, not to mention cross-country journeys.

Each smartphone maker ought to prioritize battery life. It has been a very long time since smartphones have been a luxurious for wealthy professionals — many people rely upon them for our jobs, social lives, and navigating round city. There are rural African farmers utilizing smartphones to enhance their crop yields. In excessive situations, folks depend on smartphones for survival, to the purpose that catastrophe aid businesses generally embody telephone charging of their record of priorities. Nobody ought to be panicking about their telephone operating low concurrently they’re attempting to flee a hurricane or earthquake.

I am glad, then, that a minimum of one firm is making the most of silicon-carbon to do what ought to be an apparent factor. Typically revenue margins have to take a backseat, if not for charitable causes, then simply to fulfill genuine buyer demand and preserve folks loyal. Somebody whose telephone is at all times operating on fumes goes to be tempted by different manufacturers.

In that respect, I am inquisitive about how Apple and Samsung’s ultra-slim telephones are going to promote. I doubt they will be outright failures, because the corporations have a number of promoting may, and so they’ve presumably performed some fundamental market analysis. However I additionally doubt that the merchandise can be runaway hits — charging a premium for sub-par battery life is a recipe for weak gross sales except you provide a dramatic profit in alternate. And as I’ve hopefully established, thinness can really be a detriment as of late.

I believe the best-case state of affairs is that Apple and Samsung are conscious of this, however hope that sufficient folks will purchase in to make silicon-carbon batteries cheaper to provide, and thereby de facto for improved capability within the

iPhone 18
and

Galaxy S26
. I would get my want in spite of everything, if I am fortunate — simply not as well timed as I would like.

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