OnePlus’ gigantic rumored battery reveals what Apple and Samsung ought to 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 typically permits a telephone to be extra compact, or tackle new and strange kind components. By extension, this may additionally improve energy effectivity, since different parts may be positioned and sized extra optimally.

A major 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. The truth is, given studies about Apple and Samsung’s upcoming ultra-slim telephones, it seems like it will be as much as corporations like OnePlus to indicate the majors the right way to do batteries accurately.

What are Apple and Samsung doing unsuitable, precisely?

Kind over perform

I’ve touched on this 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 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 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 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 foremost 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 somewhat.

As an alternative, Apple and Samsung appear to be prioritizing thinness in any respect prices, for causes that are not completely 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 might say — and not using a 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 concern. A number of foldables, like Google’s

Pixel 9 Pro Fold
, are so skinny when open that they really feel like they could 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 should be in the identical ballpark.

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Getting priorities straight

Or, listening to what clients really need

Isaac Mehegan / Unsplash

My largest concern 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 with no consideration now that you might want to cost a telephone day-after-day. Usually, twice per day is the sensible actuality.

As an experiment, I lately averted topping up my iPhone 16 Professional in any respect till bedtime. The end result 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 Pals. 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 may not be capable of deal with the iPhone 17 Air underneath 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 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 situations, individuals rely on smartphones for survival, to the purpose that catastrophe aid companies typically embrace telephone charging of their listing of priorities. Nobody ought to be panicking about their telephone working low concurrently they’re attempting to flee a hurricane or earthquake.

I am glad, then, that not less than one firm is benefiting from silicon-carbon to do what ought to be an apparent factor. Typically revenue margins must take a backseat, if not for charitable causes, then simply to fulfill genuine buyer demand and maintain individuals loyal. Somebody whose telephone 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, because the corporations have loads of promoting would possibly, and so they’ve presumably carried out 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 trade. And as I’ve hopefully established, thinness can really be a detriment nowadays.

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 provide, and thereby de facto for improved capability within the

iPhone 18
and

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

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