Report: Apple Developing Custom Batteries for Launch in 2025

[organisum]

delete

 

[tipoo]

Apples seems to drastically underestimate that cycle count, my mothers 12 PM was at 78% health after about 900 charge cycles, well over Apples estimates.

Even my 14 PM which had about 200 or so after a year was still reporting 100% health, my 13 PM was also at 99% health after recharging it daily every 2 to 3 days for a year somehow.

Phones were always charged to 100%, optimised charging is always off and phones were always charged wirelessly.

Apple need to change that 500 cycle count as its way too low, should be at least in the 750 range.

There's a lot of luck of the draw as well as charging habits, I doubt your anecdotes are enough to say

 

[jonnysods]

PSA: wait a year or two before buying a product with those in them! Let them iron out the engineering issues...

 

[OrenLindsey]

Rumors are saying a redesigned MacBook Pro in 2025 or 2026 with OLED, so we could see massive battery gains in that generation. A much more efficient display combined with new battery.
That's also going to be the generation that I buy a new one (hopefully), so it's already looking really good.

 

[CarAnalogy]

And this is where Apple, especially with iPhone has lifted all boats. With its economy of scale it has brought new technologies to market and the masses by sheer force of volume. Once these technologies and scale are out in the wild, others can dip into the supply chain without having to reinvent every part of it.

Been waiting a long time for anyone to actually put carbon nanotubes to use. If Apple can jumpstart that technology, forget the Watch, that will be what Apple is remembered for in 100 years.

 

[CarAnalogy]

PSA: wait a year or two before buying a product with those in them! Let them iron out the engineering issues...

What, you didn’t enjoy your Galaxy Note 7?

 

[Workerbee Redux]

True, except all third-party batteries are hot garbage (in my experience).

Only if you buy bottom-bargain priced batteries. If you go to reputable sites like iFixit, you'll get quality batteries that last.

 

[Tagbert]

The amount of failed batteries in Apple laptops I've seen in in the hundreds. Consumers have been paying for bad design.

Because no other manufacturer has laptop batteries that can fail?

Batteries on laptops are generally designed and managed like phone batteries. They have to use every cell in the battery to maximize the charge for a given bulk and weight. That is why you traditionally will charge to 100% on a phone and laptop. That’s fine for near term use but the downside is that those batteries tend to degrade faster than if they were managed differently.

EVs have different constraints. Weight and bulk are less constrained so you can build in some extra capacity that allows you to avoid a true 100% charge and 0% discharge. Software and recommendations keep the battery charge below 80% unless more is needed for a specific situation. That allows EV batteries to be good for 10 or more years without significant degradation.

It will be interesting to see which battery issue or issues Apple decides to tackle. Will it be energy density, longevity, cost, weight, or material availability? Interesting space to watch.

 

[Powerbooky]

Lithium is the cause of thermal-runaway. Alkali metals (Li, Na, K) are all very reactive with air. Transition metals, like cobalt, do not undergo such rapid exothermic reactions with air; it is mainly being removed because of its questionable sourcing and toxicity.

Thanks for clarifying this. I've read in some research publications that cobalt can cause oxygen that exists in other parts of a battery to slowly move to the lithium parts which over time can cause big trouble.

 

[jarman92]

Only if you buy bottom-bargain priced batteries. If you go to reputable sites like iFixit, you'll get quality batteries that last.

Last battery I bought from iFixit was for my MBP and I had it replaced twice because it almost immediately failed. The third battery was also garbage, but I had already installed it and didn't feel like ripping it out to get yet another garbage replacement.

 

[green_diyos]

It's 2025... will 2025 Macbooks, iPads, iPhone, Watch, Vision & AirPods come with silicon-carbon (Si-C) batteries?

With my product mix I expect to enjoy this when I replace my

- 2024 Watch Series 10 46mm by 2030
- 2024 iPhone 16 Pro Max by 2026
- 2019 AirPods 2 when the Si-C battery comes
- 2019 Macbook Pro 16" by 2029
- 2018 iPad Pro 11" by 2028

I know the trend is to roughly keep to the previous battery life in terms of hours of active use or stand by time in favor of a physically smaller and lighter battery but I'd prefer instead that they maintain the size/weight and add more time between charges.