Asger Risom
How new battery tech is ending daily phone charging
For more than a decade, smartphone users have built their days around battery anxiety. Charging cables, power banks and low-battery warnings became part of daily life. Now, something has quietly shifted.
A long-standing problem
Early mobile phones were famously resilient. Devices from the pre-smartphone era could sit in a pocket for days without needing a top-up, largely because they asked very little of their hardware.
Smartphones changed that balance completely. Bright displays, constant internet access, cameras and background apps pushed battery life in the opposite direction, making a full day on one charge feel like an achievement.
Signs of change
That expectation is now starting to break down. Several new Android phones are delivering noticeably longer battery life, with some comfortably lasting multiple days.
Real-world testing shows devices such as the OnePlus 15 running for three full working days on a single charge. Others, including the Vivo X300 Pro, Xiaomi 15 Ultra, Oppo Find X9 Pro and Honor Magic 8 Pro, have all managed at least two days without struggling.
The technology shift
The key difference lies inside the battery. Most smartphones still use lithium-ion cells with graphite anodes, a setup that has changed little over the years.
Newer models are beginning to use silicon-carbon batteries instead. These combine silicon with graphite in the anode, allowing the battery to store more lithium ions and deliver power more efficiently.
More power, same size
Because silicon can hold more energy than graphite, manufacturers can fit larger batteries into phones without increasing thickness.
That is how the 8.1mm OnePlus 15 accommodates a 7,300mAh battery, while the similarly sized Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra carries a 5,000mAh cell. The difference is immediately noticeable in daily use.
Who’s pushing ahead
Chinese manufacturers have moved fastest to adopt silicon-carbon batteries, using them to stand out in a crowded market. Their devices often pair the new cells with extremely fast charging speeds, some reaching 120W.
By contrast, Samsung and Apple have so far held back. Analysts suggest past battery failures, including Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 recall in 2016, may still influence how cautiously major brands approach new battery chemistry.
Unanswered questions
There are still unknowns. Fast charging is widely believed to accelerate battery degradation, though much of the evidence remains anecdotal. All batteries lose capacity over time, regardless of chemistry.
Whether silicon-carbon batteries degrade faster or age more gracefully remains to be seen, especially when combined with ultra-fast charging.
A wider impact
Recent thin flagship phones from Apple and Samsung have been criticised for weak battery life, despite premium prices. Meanwhile, devices like the £849 OnePlus 15 show that multi-day battery life is already possible without spending more.
If silicon-carbon batteries spread across more price ranges, they could inject fresh momentum into a smartphone market that has struggled to excite consumers in recent years.
