The Era of 10000 mAh Batteries in Flagship Smartphones Begins

Chinese smartphone manufacturers are working on new technologies to increase battery capacity without significantly increasing device dimensions. According to Digital Chat Station, one major Chinese manufacturer is testing a new design that combines a steel casing with stacked battery cells.

The new approach resembles the metal-cased battery design Apple uses in some iPhone models. Apple began placing the battery inside a protective metal casing with the iPhone 16 Pro. According to the source, the solution being tested by Chinese manufacturers instead involves using steel rather than aluminum and changing the way the cells are arranged.

The main innovation lies in the battery's internal structure. Cells in conventional smartphone batteries generally use a rolled “jelly-roll” structure. The new approach instead involves stacking the cells. This method could make more efficient use of the battery's internal volume and allow more energy to be stored in the same space.

Combining a steel casing with this cell structure could help manufacturers keep the phone's dimensions and thickness under control while increasing battery capacity.

Chinese manufacturers have already significantly increased battery capacity by using silicon-carbon anode technology. By providing higher energy density than conventional graphite anodes, this technology has allowed battery capacity in some flagship smartphones to exceed 7 000 mAh.

According to the source, combining silicon-carbon technology with the new cell architecture and a steel casing could make it possible to use 9 000–10 000 mAh batteries in future flagship smartphones.

It has not been disclosed which Chinese manufacturer is currently testing the new battery design. There is also no information about which specific smartphone will use the technology or when it will be introduced.