5 battery technologies for smartphones in the future

For decades, lithium-ion batteries were almost the only standard on mobile phones. Even though it operates stably, this technology only helps smartphones be able to operate for one day.

About two years ago, smartphones began to be equipped with silicon-carbon batteries, allowing the capacity to be increased to 7,000-9,000 mAh without increasing the thickness of the phone. Meanwhile, lithium-ion rarely exceeds 5,500 mAh if the device does not want to increase significantly in size. In addition to silicon-carbon, several other battery technologies are also being researched and could offer high battery life.

Solid-state battery

This is the technology that is considered to have the most potential and is closest to reality. Instead of using a liquid electrolyte like traditional batteries, solid-state batteries use a solid or gel electrolyte. This change helps the battery have higher energy density, meaning greater capacity in the same physical area, as well as outstanding longevity. While Li-ion batteries begin to degrade after about 300-500 charging cycles, the solid-state battery models being tested retain more than 80% of their capacity after 1,000 charges. Currently, this technology is starting to appear on high-end backup charger models and electric vehicles.

Nuclear battery

Nuclear batteries are promised by researchers to help smartphones operate for 50 years without needing a charger – something that sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie, completely eliminating the concept of charging or worrying about battery life.

However, this type of battery is very large, expensive and generates a lot of heat, and is only used for spaceships. Recently, Betavolt company (China) announced that it had successfully miniaturized nuclear batteries and aimed to put them in personal consumer devices.

Structural battery

Structural batteries are designed like the frame or case of a phone, allowing device manufacturers to make better use of available space, while also reducing the weight of the device, potentially making them thinner without the need for a separate battery unit.

This technology opens up the possibility of creating smartphones as thin as a credit card but still ensures impressive usage time thanks to the extremely large battery surface area. However, there is not much information about actual test products.

Pin graphene

Graphene is known as a superconducting material. The battery combines this material and solids to help with faster charging speed and capacity many times greater than today’s, while also increasing heat resistance and durability.

The current major barrier is that production costs are too high. However, reports show that by the middle of the next decade, the price of graphene could drop enough to be popular in electric vehicles and smartphones, helping to charge phones in minutes.

Apple exclusive battery

While most of the technology on the list is likely to feature in future phones, Apple is said to be developing proprietary battery technology just for the iPhone. Some sources say the company uses carbon nanotubes to improve performance and conductivity. Even though it hasn’t appeared yet, analysts believe that Apple is still quietly perfecting the technology to optimize usage time for its ecosystem.