Smartphone manufacturers have been looking to increase the size and capacity of batteries in phones for years, and they seem to have made impressive breakthroughs in this area recently.

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Battery life is a major concern for users when choosing a smartphone. Photo: Shutterstock

Since manufacturers switched from lithium-ion to silicon-carbon batteries, not only has battery life increased, but battery capacity has also become significantly larger.

Nowadays, a smartphone with a 6,000mAh battery is commonplace, something that was almost unthinkable just a few years ago.

There are even reports of smartphones with even larger batteries. Oppo is expected to launch a flagship later this year with a battery capacity of 7,000-7,500mAh.

This would be a significant leap from the 6,000-6,500mAh range – the maximum capacity currently found in some smartphone models.

On the other hand, Realme asserts that 10,000mAh batteries will become commonplace in the next few years. At the Mobile World Congress 2025 event, the Chinese phone manufacturer announced plans to continue developing larger batteries in future generations of phones, aiming to reach 10,000mAh.

The next major leap forward in smartphone battery capacity could come next year, as Realme plans to launch one or more models equipped with a 7,500mAh battery.

Realme's main goal is to become the first smartphone manufacturer to launch a phone with a 10,000mAh battery around 2027, which is double the battery capacity of most current flagships.

However, a larger battery doesn't necessarily mean longer usage time, so optimizing the device's power consumption is also important.

This means that other hardware components such as the screen, chip, memory, as well as the software, will need to be optimized to maximize power savings without compromising the user experience.

Realme isn't the only company pushing battery technology, so it will be interesting to see how the smartphone industry changes in the coming years as more and more companies strive to develop phones that are more powerful, faster, and have larger battery capacities.

Which smartphone battery technology is leading the way?

Currently, smartphone battery technologies focus on improving battery life, charging speed, durability, and safety.

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Silicon-carbon and graphene battery technologies both have their own advantages and disadvantages. (Image: Gadgetbytenepal)

Silicon-carbon batteries are an advancement from traditional lithium-ion batteries, replacing or combining graphite anodes with carbon-doped silicon.

Silicon has the ability to store lithium 10 times more effectively than graphite, significantly increasing battery capacity. The advantages of this battery technology include higher capacity, better durability, and faster charging.

However, it also has limitations, such as silicon expanding during charging, which can damage the battery structure if not controlled; carbon is added to increase stability, but the technology is still expensive and not yet optimized for mass production.

In addition, other battery technologies such as solid-state batteries (replacing the liquid/gel electrolyte in lithium-ion batteries with a solid electrolyte, usually ceramic, glass, or polymer); graphene batteries (using graphene – an ultra-thin layer of carbon – as an anode or coating to increase the efficiency of lithium-ion batteries); lithium-sulfur batteries (replacing the metal cathode in lithium-ion batteries with sulfur to increase energy density by up to four times)... also have their own advantages and disadvantages.

For example, the advantage of graphene-based batteries is their extremely fast charging speed. Samsung once tested a graphene battery that could fully charge in 30 minutes, according to SlashGear .

In addition, this type of battery has high capacity and durability, with a lifespan twice as long as traditional lithium-ion batteries. Graphene batteries are also safer, reducing the risk of fire and explosion thanks to their robust structure.

However, its drawback is the high production cost, making it unsuitable for mass adoption. Meanwhile, solid-state batteries, despite their high energy density, reduced risk of fire and explosion, and fast charging capabilities, are difficult to mass-produce due to their high cost and complex processes.

Developing battery technologies such as nanobatteries (using nanomaterials to increase surface area, improve capacity and charging speed); and aqueous batteries (using water electrolyte instead of lithium for safety and non-flammable properties)... are all in the testing phase and are unlikely to be widely commercialized in the near future.

The latest smartphone battery technologies, such as silicon-carbon, solid-state, and graphene, are opening up prospects for larger capacity batteries, faster charging, and greater safety.

In the short term, silicon-carbon and fast charging are leading the way due to their practicality, while solid-state and graphene promise to revolutionize the industry by the end of this decade.

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