OnePlus’ gigantic rumored battery reveals wh...

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 earnings concerned. A completely built-in one generally permits a cellphone to be extra compact, or tackle new and weird kind elements. By extension, this could additionally improve energy effectivity, since different parts might be positioned and sized extra optimally.

A chief instance of this can be a mysterious, upcoming OnePlus machine, rumored to have an enormous 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 actual fact, given stories about Apple and Samsung’s upcoming ultra-slim telephones, it appears like it should be as much as firms like OnePlus to point out the majors do batteries appropriately.

What are Apple and Samsung doing improper, precisely?

Kind over perform

I’ve touched on this not too long ago, 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 attain most thinness. Certainly, the declare from The Information is that inside Apple testing estimates solely 60 to 70% of individuals will be capable of get by means 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 possible utilizing silicon-carbon battery expertise, a latest improve of the lithium-ion batteries we see in every little thing from smartphones to

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

As a substitute, Apple and Samsung appear to be prioritizing thinness in any respect prices, for causes that are not fully clear past aesthetics and bragging rights. It has been years since I’ve heard anybody complain about how thick a cellphone is, if not a decade or extra. Complaints have trended in the other way, I might say — and not using a case, some telephones might be so skinny and slippery that they are laborious to grip securely. Even my spouse’s OnePlus 9 5G has that subject. 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 greatest 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 laborious 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 cellphone launched in April 2025 — one thing coming in Might 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 subject is that Apple and Samsung appear to be actively ignoring the longest-running public gripe about smartphones: longevity. Whereas some pre-iPhone units may final a number of days on a cost, it is taken with no consideration now that it’s worthwhile to cost a cellphone day-after-day. Usually, twice per day is the sensible actuality.

As an experiment, I not too long ago prevented topping up my iPhone 16 Professional in any respect till bedtime. The consequence was that after roughly 16 hours, my cellphone was right 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 Mates. Apple claims that the cellphone needs 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 may not be capable of deal with the iPhone 17 Air underneath every day situations, not to mention cross-country journeys.

Each smartphone maker ought to prioritize battery life. It has been a very long time since smartphones had 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 eventualities, folks rely on smartphones for survival, to the purpose that catastrophe aid businesses generally embody cellphone charging of their checklist of priorities. Nobody needs to be panicking about their cellphone working low similtaneously they’re making an attempt to flee a hurricane or earthquake.

I am glad, then, that a minimum of one firm is benefiting from silicon-carbon to do what needs to be an apparent factor. Generally 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 cellphone is at all times working on fumes goes to be tempted by different manufacturers.

In that respect, I am interested in how Apple and Samsung’s ultra-slim telephones are going to promote. I doubt they will be outright failures, for the reason that firms have quite a lot of promoting would possibly, they usually’ve presumably carried out 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 until you supply a dramatic profit in alternate. And as I’ve hopefully established, thinness can really be a detriment nowadays.

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

iPhone 18
and

Galaxy S26
. I’d get my want in any case, if I am fortunate — simply not as well timed as I might like.

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