iPhone 18 Pro Max Rumored to Deliver Next-Level Battery Life

[The Game 161]

Always wondered why Apple and Google didn’t hop on this technology.

More excuses from brands for not using the technology. There has been zero issues with Silcon carbon. You are also charging far less with phones with them. Currrnt batteries it’s not great long term given you are charging them 1-2 times a day

 

[The Game 161]

So, how are those phones doing with 5-year-old silicon carbine batteries doing?

Ask this question is 2-4 years when these current phones with them are doing. Chances are they will be in great shape and likely better battery health than any non silicon carbon devices

 

[The Game 161]

Silicon Carbide batteries are lithium ion batteries with silicon carbide anodes instead of graphite anodes. The benefit is 10-20% greater capacity. The downside is worse durability and lifetime. There are efforts to reduce the swelling that causes problems with this kind of anode, but it doesn’t seem like they are really ready for mainstream phones yet. Neither Apple, Samsung, or Google are ready to stake their reputation for durable phones in SC batteries, yet.

Should you buy a phone with a silicon-carbon battery? Here's the catch

Silicon carbon Li-ion batteries are found in an increasing number of today's smartphones, but should you buy one? Here are the pros and cons.

www.androidauthority.com

Because all those brands are behind everybody else because they are lazy and also they are making enough money so no need to push any boundaries in tech. Getting good profit why bother adding better hardware

 

[JulianL]

Citing supply chain information, the Weibo user known as "Digital Chat Station" said that the iPhone 18 Pro Max will have a battery capacity of 5,100 to 5,200 mAh. .... It is expected to be thicker than its predecessor to facilitate the larger battery.

Well, if the 18 Pro Max is going to get thicker to "facilitate the larger battery" then I really hope that the capacity is at the top end of that prediction rather than the lower end. The 17 Pro Max (eSIM-only version) has a 5,088 mAh battery already so increasing the thickness of the phone to get an extra 12 mAh to hit the 5,100 mAh prediction doesn't seem like a great trade-off to me!

As someone who is in what is currently a "SIM-slot country" (the UK) I'm wondering whether this year will be the year when Apple finally removes the physical SIM slot worldwide at least for the Pro range or maybe for every model. Apple has probably laid the groundwork it needs to with the iPhone Air and the manufacturing and logistics optimisations from only needing to procure one battery size for each model and having the same PCB and case design worldwide would surely save Apple a decent chunk of change over an entire year's production run so I'm going to be a bit surprised if this isn't the year when at least the Pros lose the physical SIM card slot worldwide.

I was pretty nervous about losing my physical SIM card slot a few years ago but seeing all you folks in the eSIM-only countries getting slightly bigger batteries in your Pros and Pro Max-s plus more and more of the UK MVNOs offering eSIMs means that I'm 100% ready for the switch over now.

 

[Tagbert]

Ask this question is 2-4 years when these current phones with them are doing. Chances are they will be in great shape and likely better battery health than any non silicon carbon devices

Ignoring the known problems that current SC batteries have with anodes swelling and batteries dying early?

I’m not saying that this will always be the case. I’m sure that all of these companies are doing research on how to get silicon into the anodes while not sacrificing battery lifetimes, but it doesn’t seem like we are quite there yet for large scale consumer use.

 

[The Game 161]

Ignoring the known problems that current SC batteries have with anodes swelling and batteries dying early?

I’m not saying that this will always be the case. I’m sure that all of these companies are doing research on how to get silicon into the anodes while not sacrificing battery lifetimes, but it doesn’t seem like we are quite there yet for large scale consumer use.

But there is no proven facts regarding silicon carbon batteries. They have been out 3 years with not one report of any issues

There has Been no reports of any swelling or batteries dying.

There just plenty of misinformation out there mainly from big brands who won’t use them until they have been out longer

 

[Tagbert]

But there is no proven facts regarding silicon carbon batteries. They have been out 3 years with not one report of any issues

There has Been no reports of any swelling or batteries dying.

There just plenty of misinformation out there mainly from big brands who won’t use them until they have been out longer

I guess we will have to wait and see how this develops over time.

 

[BigMcGuire]

I guess we will have to wait and see how this develops over time.

I find the two trains of thought here interesting. One side claims that Apple and other major companies are being willfully ignorant and the other side (MKBHD) and you/me see longevity issues being reported.

Observing Apple since the 4s ... Apple has never been one to jump to new unproven technologies but instead only moving when the technology is proven reliable.

Based on what little I've read (I am no expert, just a battery hobbyist), this seems far more believable than assuming ignorance/complacence. To think that Apple's / Google's battery scientists haven't tested and researched different battery chemistries takes more effort to believe than not for me.

One would also think that if a battery technology has such proven advancements, it would be all over Amazon replacing LiFePO4 and LiIon batteries left and right.

I respect a difference of opinion as obviously the above is just my opinion.


Just for fun I asked an LLM why this technology hasn't taken off (selecting the "deep research" option for this particular LLM) and it came down to longevity concerns (noticeable degradation after just 500 cycles), safety concerns (significant expansion while charging requires perfect construction), higher manufacturing costs, and some chemistries are patented by the Chinese Government.