Galaxy S26 Ultra and S Pen
David Phelan
Several factors go into defining market trends in the smartphone world, and 2026 will be no exception. You have the rising costs of memory and storage due to the voracious demands of AI server farms, the emergence of a new form factor, the Wide Foldable, and the increased capacity of batteries enabled by silicon-carbon technology. Yet Samsung, one of the biggest names in the market, is not expected to respond until the first quarter of next year with the Galaxy S27 family.
One quick glance at the specification sheets for the recent wave of phone releases shows increasing battery capacities. This started with foldable smartphones, which leveraged the higher energy density of silicon-carbon batteries to keep the unfolded phones as thin as possible while still increasing capacity.
Various flagships, such as the Oppo Find N5 and Honor Magic8 Pro have reset expectations at the flagship level to 6,000 - 7,000 mAh. We're now seeing mid-range phones introduce the technology and offering similar steps up in capacity and endurance.
Customers aren’t really going to care about the finer details of battery chemistry. They are going to care that one phone has the number 7,000 on the specs while the other has 5,000. They are going to care about getting more battery life out of the phone with the larger battery, and range anxiety remains a worry for many consumers.
Not moving to Silicon-Carbon is a disadvantage on retail shelves. Right now, two manufacturers know that they are carrying that disadvantage on their shoulders. Apple and Samsung.
Apple will debut the iPhone 18 family later this year. It is expected to split the releases, with the flagship iPhone 18 Pro, 18 Pro Max and a second iPhone Air arriving in September, leaving the more mainstream-focused iPhone 18 and iPhone 18e for a March release. The Pro models are expected to switch to silicon-carbon batteries; whether Apple uses this to extend the iPhone's endurance or to keep the same endurance while shrinking the battery and thinning down the iPhone remains to be seen. In the past, it has leaned towards the latter approach.
Samsung does have a Galaxy Unpacked event planned for the summer, but this has traditionally been reserved for its foldable phones. The expectation is that the Galaxy Z Flip 8 and Z Fold 8 will be launched, along with the reveal of the provisionally-named Galaxy Z Fold Wide. The latter offers a more tablet-sized inner screen compared to the square style favoured by existing foldables.
There’s no indication that any of these handsets will ship with silicon-carbon batteries, so we’ll have to wait until the Galaxy S27 arrives, which would be January 2027 at the very earliest.
Reports this week suggest Samsung’s work on Silicon-carbon batteries, but also discuss issues the company is facing regarding the number of battery cycles these batteries can withstand without significant degradation. The batteries under discussion are also larger than your average smartphone battery.
It’s also worth noting Samsung’s reluctance to invest in battery innovation. The Galaxy S series has stuck with a 5,000 mAh battery capacity for the last five years, right back to the Galaxy S21 Ultra. Since then, 5,000 mAh has been locked in. Many will recall the issues with the Galaxy Note 7’s battery, which first led to a recall and then to the smartphone's early cancellation due to defective batteries.
Is it any wonder that Samsung is taking a conservative approach?
Ultimately, the facts around launch timings will put Samsung more than a year behind its Android rivals. It may be only four months behind Apple, but the festive sales will see the South Korean company selling phones with smaller battery capacities and less endurance than the competition, at every price point.
It’s a classic Apple trait to be “late but best” to the party, but this caution is increasingly looking like Samsung’s approach to battery technology.
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