Not All That Big is Good
The iPhone 16 series is rumored to get bigger batteries than the iPhone 15 models. This is quite normal for new iPhone generations, although the real-life results are not always as good as Apple’s estimated numbers. The iPhone 15 is an example of that.
Leaks claim that every iPhone 16 model, except the Plus, will get a bigger battery. The iPhone 16 Pro Max will get the biggest battery with a rumored capacity of 4,676 mAh. Paired with the optimized A18 chip, this year’s iPhones should perform better in terms of battery life.
Of course, with Apple increasing battery life on iPhones, Android manufacturers cannot stand still. They are developing flagship models with monster batteries that would make the iPhone 16 series look tiny in comparison.
Some vendors are rumored to have tested batteries as large as 5,500mAh for these devices.
Bigger is better when it comes to the iPhone’s battery, but sometimes, increasing battery capacity is not a good thing when it comes to Android.
BGR claims that Android manufacturers are very unlikely to increase the battery because of the user, and reports that the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 will actually consume more battery life, so this increase is only offered to compensate for that.
Benchmark leaks show that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 outperforms the A18 Pro chip in the iPhone 16 Pro. This is because Qualcomm switched to Oryon cores, which are used in Snapdragon X Elite compute laptops, which are expected to outperform even the new MacBook M3.
More performance means more power consumption, and this could be an issue with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4.
After years of trailing behind Apple, the huge step forward that the Snapdragon chip has made is seen as a good thing for the industry, especially since we are moving into an AI era and on-device AI processing is becoming more and more important.
It is great to see Qualcomm challenging Apple for chip dominance. This will put pressure on Apple to work even harder to maintain its lead.
But there is one crucial issue: smartphone and laptop chips cannot consume too much power. It is well-known that they need to offer good battery life while still delivering high performance, especially for mobile use. This is what made the MacBook Air M1 such a success for Apple almost 4 years after its release.
Will there be a new battery technology?
If the rumors are correct, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 may not be as power-efficient as you would expect from a 3nm chip manufactured by TSMC. Android Central reports that at least three smartphone vendors are developing high-end models with battery capacities ranging from 5,500mAh to 6,000mAh.
The new octa-core chip is rumored to lack an energy-efficient core, which can lead to issues like battery drain and overheating. However, this is still speculation, although the sources of the leaks seem to be quite credible.
There could be other reasons why Android vendors are developing larger battery capacities that have nothing to do with the performance of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4. One of them is that they could be looking to push new technologies to outperform Apple and the iPhone 16 series.
Remember, Honor did the same last year with the Magic 5 Pro, which featured silicon-carbon battery technology, allowing for a higher capacity and faster charging speeds.
It is not just Android, rumors also claim that Apple is looking to revolutionize iPhone battery technology by using stacked batteries and other improvements.
Soon after the iPhone 16 series is released, probably in September, we will see battery life tests everywhere. People will compare the new phones to the iPhone 15 series and to all the other flagship Android smartphones of 2024 that will be available by then.
Qualcomm should unveil the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 in the fall, shortly after Apple’s iPhone 16 launch event. The first phones to be powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 should be released in late 2024, early 2025. The Galaxy S25 series could be part of the first wave.
By then, we should know more about these devices, including their battery capacities. And we will know for sure whether the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 is indeed a battery hog and whether it can outperform the iPhone 16’s A18 Pro.
