iPhones and Galaxy phones should steal this Chinese flagship feature

Chinese brands are leading the way

Flagship phones from China are now packing bigger batteries, all while managing to stay even slimmer. How's that possible? Well, it's thanks to silicon-carbon batteries. They are seriously shaking up the battery life scene, and we're not too far off from seeing 10,000 mAh batteries inside smartphones becoming a reality.

So what's the difference? Traditional lithium-ion batteries use graphite for the anode material, but silicon-carbon batteries swap that out for a silicon-carbon composite. Why does this matter? Simple – silicon can store way more energy than graphite, meaning more power in the same amount of space.

That's why Chinese manufacturers are able to create phones that are thinner than ever but still feature huge batteries. Brands like Honor, Xiaomi, vivo, OnePlus, and Nubia have already started using silicon-carbon batteries in their devices. While these batteries haven't made a huge impact in Western markets yet, rumors about Samsung and Apple working on them might just change that soon.

Until then, both tech giants will continue to lag behind in our battery tests, with brands like Nubia, Asus, Sony, Honor and its Magic 6 Pro, vivo with the vivo X200 Pro and Oppo with its latest Oppo Find X8 Pro, taking the lead. Samsung's Galaxy S Ultra models, in particular, are crying out for a battery upgrade, but unfortunately, it doesn't look like the Galaxy S25 Ultra will deliver. Maybe next year?

As for the iPhone 16 Pro Max, it did get a battery upgrade and performs pretty well, especially for browsing. Still, for a flagship device priced over $1000 in 2025, expectations are naturally higher.

The iPhone 16 Pro Max has a slightly bigger battery than its predecessor. While Apple hasn't officially shared the exact capacity, teardowns suggest it's around 4,685 mAh, marking the largest battery ever in an iPhone. Yet, when you compare it to the latest OnePlus 13 with its massive 6,000 mAh battery or the RedMagic 10 Pro, a gaming phone boasting a 7,050 mAh battery, the difference is pretty striking, wouldn't you say?

But still, how do Apple and Samsung continue to be present in the leading spots in battery life rankings?

Well, it's not just about the size of the battery. The magic lies in the balance of several factors, with software optimization playing a starring role. iOS, in particular, gets high marks for its tight integration with hardware, leading to super-efficient power management.

On top of that, advanced processors like the ones in the iPhone 16 Pro and Galaxy S24 Ultra are built to be more power-efficient, using less energy while still handling the same tasks. And we can't forget about the efficient displays with adaptive refresh rates (like the 120Hz ProMotion on iPhones), which adjust the refresh rate based on what you're doing, saving power when high refresh rates aren't needed.

But hey, most other flagship phones already have these features, too. This is why Apple and Samsung really need to up their game if they want to maintain their dominance and popularity (though let's be real, their fan base is pretty rock-solid, but that's a topic for another day). 

When – not if – these two giants start adopting silicon-carbon batteries, we're bound to see a major boost in battery life. And let's be honest, that's a change we can all get behind, especially for users who don't have easy access to the wide variety of flagship options coming out of China.