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

A chief instance of this can be a mysterious, upcoming OnePlus gadget, 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 reviews about Apple and Samsung’s upcoming ultra-slim telephones, it appears like it should 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?

Type over operate

I’ve touched on this not too long ago, so I will not go into the total 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 of 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 possible utilizing silicon-carbon battery expertise, a latest improve of the lithium-ion batteries we see in all the things 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, cellphone makers would maintain the road on battery life, merely shrinking their telephones slightly.

As an alternative, 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 wrong way, I might say — and not using a case, some telephones may be so skinny and slippery that they are onerous to grip securely. Even my spouse’s OnePlus 9 5G has that problem. 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 finest 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 onerous 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 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 units may final a number of days on a cost, it is taken with no consideration now that it’s essential to cost a cellphone day-after-day. Usually, twice per day is the sensible actuality.

As an experiment, I not too long ago averted topping up my iPhone 16 Professional in any respect till bedtime. The consequence was that after roughly 16 hours, my cellphone 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 Mates. 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 won’t be capable of deal with the iPhone 17 Air underneath each 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 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 eventualities, individuals rely on smartphones for survival, to the purpose that catastrophe aid businesses generally embrace cellphone charging of their checklist of priorities. Nobody must be panicking about their cellphone working low concurrently they’re making an attempt to flee a hurricane or earthquake.

I am glad, then, that not less than one firm is profiting from silicon-carbon to do what must 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 individuals loyal. Somebody whose cellphone is at all times working on fumes goes to be tempted by different manufacturers.

In that respect, I am interested by 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 numerous promoting would possibly, and so they’ve presumably executed some fundamental market analysis. However I additionally doubt that the merchandise shall be runaway hits — charging a premium for sub-par battery life is a recipe for weak gross sales until you provide a dramatic profit in alternate. And as I’ve hopefully established, thinness can really be a detriment as of late.

I feel the best-case situation is that Apple and Samsung are conscious of this, however hope that sufficient individuals 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 might like.

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