Cellphone batteries don’t get any higher, even on the costliest fashions

For me and numerous different homeowners, there are numerous long-standing gripes about smartphones that are not being addressed with the precedence we expect they deserve. Some persons are upset that the trade has successfully deserted small smartphones that can be utilized one-handed. One among my very own complaints is that telephone makers proceed to prioritize ultra-wide cameras over telephotos in some circumstances, although filling the body along with your topic(s) is among the main rules of photography.

If there’s one thing everybody can agree on, although, it is that telephone makers have been sidelining battery life, at the least within the fashions you should buy right here in North America — extra on that in a minute. Sure, an iPhone 17 Professional can doubtlessly final you greater than a day in case you’re cautious, however individuals have been asking for sensible multi-day battery life for many years at this level. There are no indicators that two- or three-day batteries are about to turn into the norm in 2026, sadly — and this is why.

Cellphone makers are prioritizing AI

The flagship characteristic nobody requested for

Okay, it is an exaggeration to assert no telephone customers are asking for generative AI — my spouse has even made some surprisingly tasty meals utilizing steered recipes. However realistically, the tech nonetheless makes loads of errors, and kinds the premise for options that are not significantly helpful, resembling photo-editing instruments that allow you to faux portraits. I do discover it helpful typically, even in researching articles — but it surely’s telling that I can solely use it as a place to begin, somewhat than a dependable supply of information.

So why is AI such a precedence, then? I am certain the primary cause is that when it does work, it looks like magic, and no firm desires to be left behind. Apple Intelligence has been slammed for missing promised options which have lengthy baked into Google Gemini, to the purpose that Apple has caved and agreed to pay for integrating Gemini fashions into its personal software program. The fruits of that needs to be revealed at WWDC 2026 in June.

There’s probably one other issue, although: saving on manufacturing prices. Whereas the datacenters for AI are infamously costly, these are wanted a method or one other, and it is cheaper to deal with software program as an “improve” somewhat than spend on new telephone parts. Witness Samsung’s current unveiling of the Galaxy S26 lineup — the corporate spent numerous the occasion hyping up AI enhancements, whereas barely advancing most of its {hardware} specs over the S25. A considerable battery improve would require severe redesign efforts, in addition to spinning up analysis, provide, and manufacturing prices — all for one thing that would simply enhance pricetags for the tip person, at the least together with these datacenter build-outs.

Main manufacturers aren’t investing in silicon-carbon batteries but

Legit worry or cheapskating, you resolve

Should you’re not acquainted, silicon-carbon (Si-C) batteries are a variation on lithium-ion expertise that ends in considerably greater power density. This enables firms to place the identical quantity of energy right into a smaller bundle, or dramatically enhance runtime utilizing the identical dimensions. Si-C is more and more de facto for Chinese language telephones. One current instance is the OnePlus 15, which has a whopping 7,300mAh capability, sufficient to final two full days even with heavy use.

Oddly, Apple, Google, and Samsung have averted placing Si-C in any of their telephones but, regardless of the tech having been out within the wild for a number of years at this level. Even the iPhone 17 Professional Max is saddled with a traditional 5,088mAh battery pack.

The plain clarification for that is threat aversion. When charging, Si-C batteries swell up way over common lithium-ion packs. This must be accommodated for in design, as do potential problems with speedy degradation or thermal runaway. To this point, I have never heard any complaints about Chinese language telephones with Si-C, however all it could take is a number of iPhones or Galaxy units affected by these points to land Apple and Samsung in scorching water. The transition is anticipated to occur in the end — but it surely might be that firms are ready for refinements and extra information earlier than taking the plunge. Samsung truly confessed to the info half throughout its Galaxy S26 press briefing, it is simply that we’ve not heard something from Apple or Google.

As soon as once more, manufacturing prices enter the image. Si-C batteries aren’t as low-cost as customary ones, and with AI and US tariffs impacting revenue margins, there’s most likely no rush to convey one thing to market when ready some time might be each safer and cheaper.

Many Western customers are complacent about battery specs

No stress, no change

What makes the Chinese language market so particular is not only its huge, self-contained market, however the predominance of Android. Clients can and do leap between manufacturers on a whim, so it is important for companies to continually one-up one another with superior specs or utterly new options. The primary foldable and tri-fold telephones have been offered by Chinese language firms, not Samsung.

Within the US and Canada, in the meantime, there are solely 4 main manufacturers: Apple, Google, Samsung, and Motorola, with Apple reigning supreme by a mile. There’s much less competitors, and the individuals within the Apple ecosystem — myself included — are unlikely to change, since they’d lose entry to options and providers that do not have an equal within the Android world. Manufacturers like Nothing and OnePlus have marketshares under a fraction of a %.

All this interprets into much less incentive to push boundaries, not simply in batteries, however in different areas as properly, resembling pictures. China’s Xiaomi 15 Extremely sports activities two telephoto cameras, together with a 200-megapixel shooter. In the meantime, the iPhone 17 Professional is Apple’s first gadget with a 48-megapixel telephoto, up from a meager 12 megapixels.

With out a lot competitors to nudge battery specs greater, North American customers have come to take it with no consideration that few smartphones will final greater than a day on a cost. Lately, Apple and Samsung seemingly took a step backwards, releasing the iPhone Air and S25 Edge — telephones that sacrificed capability for ultra-thin designs. Whilst you can nonetheless make it by means of a full day with both, it is not unusual for Air customers, at the least, to need to cost twice on heavier use days. Good luck making an attempt to make it by means of a day of snapping images and video on that tour of Paris.

The excellent news is that the backlash to ultra-thins is actual. Gross sales of each the Air and Edge have been weak, and studies counsel that there will not be any sequels in 2026, if ever. Nonetheless, it would nonetheless be some time earlier than Apple and Samsung take the trace, since their customary fashions are promoting in addition to ever.