Silicon-carbon is just the start: these battery technologies could make your phone last even longer

For a long time, just about every smartphone used the same type of battery – a lithium-ion one, and while these do the job just fine, they have meant that most phones need charging daily, with battery life being something companies have struggled to improve much, even as other elements of phones get vastly better.

That’s starting to change now – silicon-carbon batteries are now being used in a growing number of handsets, such as in the OnePlus 15 and the Xiaomi 17 Ultra. This tech is heralding batteries with a capacity in the range of around 7,000-9,000mAh in a standard-size smartphone, while more conventional lithium-ion batteries rarely go above about 5,500mAh without manufacturers having to resort to a chunky device.

But while silicon-carbon batteries allow for the biggest battery jump we’ve seen in the history of smartphones, there are other battery technologies in the works that ...