For many years, my biggest gripe about smartphones – and probably yours, too – has beenbattery life. Despite repeated pleas from consumers and the media, runtime has remained stuck at about a day for most phones, at least without turning on special low-power modes that cripple features. Sometimes, even that much is unrealistic. I like myiPhone 16 Pro, but on days with work,the gym, and picking my son up from school, I often need an evening top-up just to avoid power slipping into the red.
The good news is that a confluence of factors is finally producing smartphones with two-day battery life. They’re on the market as we speak, although it remains to be seen if major players like Apple and Samsung will make this standard.
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Life in olden times
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First, it’s worth a brief tangent to explain what battery life was like before the iPhone made smartphones de facto. Some of you probably remember, but for the ones that don’t, it was taken for granted that vanilla “feature” phones would last a few days on a single charge. You’d plug your phone in early sometimes, but only as a measure of insurance. If you were really lucky, your phone would last a whole week. Even if it didn’t, many phones let you swap in replacement batteries to keep on going.
It’s ridiculous that companies are prioritizing things like AI-generated emoji and distorted ultra-wide lenses over guaranteeing that your phone won’t die prematurely.
We’re not about to get swappable batteries again, unfortunately, and it’s obvious why feature phones lasted so long – calling and texting aren’t exactly battery-hungry functions. Nevertheless, these products offered a peace of mind that we’ve since lost. I never had to ginger my “dumb” phone across the finish line, or worry that I wouldn’t be able to reach someone in an emergency. I certainly didn’t have to invest in an arsenal of cables and chargers, since my phone would always last long enough to make it to my usual wall outlet.
Modern smartphonesshouldoffer the same. If nothing else, it’s ridiculous that companies are prioritizing things like AI-generated emoji and distorted ultra-wide lenses over guaranteeing that your phone won’t die prematurely. It’s got to the point where relief agencies include charging equipment at some aid stations.
You’d also think that with the post-iPhone era approaching its second decade, phone makers could do better at battery tech than keeping up with increased power demands. It’s clear at this stage that most of them just don’t want to spend extra on higher-capacity batteries if customers are willing to put up with less, no matter if multi-day battery life would be a useful selling point. Indeed, we’re actually going backwards in some cases – Samsung’s priceyGalaxy S25 Edgehas over an hour less runtime than the S25+ simply for the sake of being thinner and lighter.
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The major advancement pushing things towards two-day battery life is the arrival of silicon-carbon (Si-C) technology. That’s a variation of the lithium-ion batteries we’re used to, simply with improved energy density. A Si-C battery typically increases capacity by 10 to 15% – which may not sound like much, but does translate into a slight bump in active runtime, or several additional hours of standby, all without increasing a phone’s dimensions. We’ve already seen a few high-profile devices adopt the tech. The best-known example outside of China is theOnePlus 13, which has a whopping 6,000mAh capacity – utterly decimating the 4,685mAh of the (much costlier) iPhone 16 Pro Max, and even the 5,000mAh of the Galaxy S25 Ultra.
There’s more going on, though. OLED displays are becoming more efficient, for instance, through the reduced power consumption of blue LED transmitters. It’s also increasingly standard for phones to support dynamic refresh rates. So, while some displays are running as fast as 120Hz, they can potentially drop to 10Hz or less to save power when nothing significant is happening. It’s why always-on displays are possible, since a screen running at 1Hz and low brightness barely sips any juice.
The major advancement pushing things towards two-day battery life is the arrival of silicon-carbon (Si-C) technology.
There’s also been a shift towards heavily optimized chip designs, and I’m not just talking about Apple Silicon or Google Tensor processors. Even Qualcomm’s multi-brand Snapdragon 8 Elite has a new CPU architecture, and designs across the board have benefited from shrinking die sizes. Even some budget/mid-tier Snapdragon chips now use 4nm dies, and chipmaker TSMC recently unveiled support for 2nm manufacturing. You won’t see that in phones anytime soon, but Apple is expected to use it for 2026’siPhone 18.
The result of all this is that there are phones that can last well into a second day before you even need to think of charging them. The OnePlus 13 can manage around 15 hours of screen-on time, yet that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The Realme GT 7 Pro hits 17 hours, and the vivo iQOO 13 tops 18. It’s to Apple’s credit that the iPhone 16 Pro Max matches the GT 7 Pro without a Si-C battery, although, like I said, you are paying a hefty premium – even the cheapest Pro Max configuration is $1,200.
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Will Apple and Samsung follow suit?
…One step back
It’s hard to tell, but the signs aren’t encouraging. Until it was announced, the Galaxy S25 Edge was often expected to use Si-C tech to slim down while retaining decent battery life. As I mentioned, Samsung instead decided to throw battery life under the bus, presumably in the belief that people care more about weight and thinness – even though no one I know complains about how thick or heavy smartphones are. Frequently, the problem is the opposite – some phones are so skinny and light that they’re hard to grip without a case.
Apple, meanwhile, is working on an ultra-thin phone of its own, theiPhone 17 Air. Reportedly, internal testing suggests that only 60 to 70% of owners will be able to make it a day on a single charge, so the company is reviving the idea of a first-party battery case. That feels like a gigantic step backwards for little discernible benefit.
I wouldn’t be surprised if consumers punish Apple and Samsung for their choices.
Any hope for the future rests mainly in two things. First, I wouldn’t be surprised if consumers punish Apple and Samsung for their choices. The Edge is actually one of the most expensive S25 models, and sacrifices more than just runtime to achieve its size. The Air is expected to follow suit. It’s hard to imagine anyone but the trendiest shoppers thinking these phones are a good deal, an apt analogy being shopping for a Corvette. Sure, a lot of people would love to buy one, but it’s a completely irrational choice when you’ve got kids and groceries to drive around town.
The second thing is the inevitable expansion of Si-C. Apple and Samsung may not feel under much pressure at the moment, but with the roster of Si-C phones growing rapidly, they’re going to have to hop on the train at some point to stay relevant. And once they do, there’s also going to be pressure to match other brands' longevity. The real question may be whether they’ll be content to rest on their laurels, using all the recent progress in battery life just to run in place and puff up profit margins.
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