OnePlus’ gigantic rumored battery reveals what Apple and Samsung must be doing

I’ve at all times supported the thought 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 totally built-in one generally permits a cellphone to be extra compact, or tackle new and strange kind elements. By extension, this will additionally improve energy effectivity, since different elements will be positioned and sized extra optimally.

A main 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 could completely smoke the 5,000 and 4,685mAH batteries within the

Galaxy S25 Ultra
and

iPhone 16 Pro Max
, respectively. In truth, given experiences about Apple and Samsung’s upcoming ultra-slim telephones, it appears like it is going to be as much as corporations like OnePlus to indicate the majors easy methods to do batteries accurately.

What are Apple and Samsung doing fallacious, precisely?

Kind over operate

I’ve touched on this just lately, so I will not go into the complete particulars, however the brief 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 to get by 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 doubtless 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 foremost profit is improved vitality density — so that you’d assume that at a minimal, cellphone makers would maintain the road on battery life, merely shrinking their telephones somewhat.

As a substitute, Apple and Samsung appear to be prioritizing thinness in any respect prices, for causes that are not totally 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 would say — with out a case, some telephones will be so skinny and slippery that they are laborious to grip securely. Even my spouse’s OnePlus 9 5G has that subject. A couple of 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 try 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 know 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 Could or later must be in the identical ballpark.

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Getting priorities straight

Or, listening to what prospects truly 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 you’ll want to cost a cellphone daily. Usually, 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 end result 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 Associates. Apple claims that the cellphone must 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 to deal with the iPhone 17 Air below each 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 on 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, individuals depend on smartphones for survival, to the purpose that catastrophe reduction companies generally embrace cellphone charging of their checklist of priorities. Nobody must be panicking about their cellphone working low similtaneously they’re attempting to flee a hurricane or earthquake.

I am glad, then, that a minimum of one firm is profiting from silicon-carbon to do what must be an apparent factor. Generally revenue margins must take a backseat, if not for charitable causes, then simply to fulfill genuine buyer demand and hold individuals loyal. Somebody whose cellphone is at all times working 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’re going to be outright failures, because the corporations have a variety of promoting would possibly, and so they’ve presumably performed some fundamental market analysis. However I additionally doubt that the merchandise might 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 change. And as I’ve hopefully established, thinness can truly be a detriment nowadays.

I feel the best-case state of affairs is that Apple and Samsung are conscious of this, however hope that sufficient individuals 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 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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