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

I’ve all the time 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 totally built-in one generally permits a telephone 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 main instance of this can be a mysterious, upcoming OnePlus machine, 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 could completely smoke the 5,000 and 4,685mAH batteries within the

Galaxy S25 Ultra
and

iPhone 16 Pro Max
, respectively. In actual fact, given reviews about Apple and Samsung’s upcoming ultra-slim telephones, it seems like it’ll be as much as corporations like OnePlus to point out the majors do batteries appropriately.

What are Apple and Samsung doing improper, 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 inside Apple testing estimates solely 60 to 70% of individuals will be capable to get via a full day with out recharging — which is why the corporate can 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 current improve of the lithium-ion batteries we see in every part from smartphones to

electric cars
and PEVs (private electrical automobiles). The main 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 slightly.

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 no case, some telephones may be so skinny and slippery that they are exhausting to grip securely. Even my spouse’s OnePlus 9 5G has that problem. A number 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 are attempting to offset the elevated manufacturing prices of silicon-carbon, however I do not know that this excuse flies in mild of the OnePlus rumors. That 7,800mAh battery is explicitly claimed to be a silicon-carbon mannequin, making it exhausting 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 Might or later must be in the identical ballpark.

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Getting priorities straight

Or, listening to what clients really need

Isaac Mehegan / Unsplash

My greatest problem is that Apple and Samsung appear to be actively ignoring the longest-running public gripe about smartphones: longevity. Whereas some pre-iPhone units might final a number of days on a cost, it is taken without any consideration now that you must cost a telephone day by 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 outcome was that after roughly 16 hours, my telephone 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 Buddies. Apple claims that the telephone 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 to deal with the iPhone 17 Air beneath day by 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 depend 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 depend on smartphones for survival, to the purpose that catastrophe reduction companies generally embody telephone charging of their checklist of priorities. Nobody must be panicking about their telephone operating low similtaneously they’re making an attempt to flee a hurricane or earthquake.

I am glad, then, that at the very least one firm is making the most of 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 preserve individuals loyal. Somebody whose telephone is all the time 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, for the reason that corporations have numerous promoting may, and so they’ve presumably performed 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 change. And as I’ve hopefully established, thinness can really be a detriment today.

I believe 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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