Silicon batteries were first used in commercial phones last year, and more and more brands are joining in. Here’s why this is such good news.
New battery innovations seem to be flying around our ears, from sodium and zinc to even eco-friendly materials. Unfortunately, most of these ideas don’t really take off in the Android devices we use every day.
But in recent years, something exciting has quietly happened to Android batteries. It makes your Android smartphone a lot better in one fell swoop, without you even knowing it. Meet silicon batteries.
This new Android battery makes your phone much better
Most Androids have a lithium-ion battery, where the anode (an important part of the battery) is made of graphite. But these days there are also batteries that use silicon, and that is increasingly being used in new devices.
Silicon batteries have a huge advantage. They have a higher energy density than lithium batteries. That means you can use a smaller battery with the same capacity. Or conversely, a larger capacity with the same size.
A good example is the 2023 HONOR Magic 5 Pro, the first smartphone with a silicon battery. While the global version of the Android smartphone had a lithium battery of 5,100 mAh, the Chinese version came with a silicon battery of 5,450 mAh. All in the same casing.
The Honor Magic 5 Pro (Image: Digital Trends)
Since then, silicon batteries can be found in devices such as the OnePlus Ace 3 Pro, Xiaomi 13 and 14 series and X Fold 3 Pro. The OnePlus, for example, has a 6,100 mAh battery and claims 22 percent more capacity while being physically smaller than the Ace 2 Pro. The HONOR Magic 6 Pro also comes with a 5,600 mAh silicon-carbon battery.
Hope for foldable smartphone
There are more advantages to the new Android batteries than just greater battery capacity. In fact, for foldable smartphones, these batteries are a great solution. This is because the batteries can be made thinner without sacrificing power or performance.
Take the 2023 HONOR Magic V2, for example. That device is very thin (9.9 mm) but still has a 5,000 mAh battery. The HONOR Magic V3 goes even further, with a thickness of only 9.2 mm and a 5,150 mAh battery.
This trend continues with foldable phones the HONOR Magic V Flip and the Xiaomi Mix Flip. So the new Android batteries may come in handy as Google and Samsung look to make their foldable phones thinner without compromising on battery capacity.
Honor Magic V Flip (Image: HONOR)
Silicon batteries are also useful for smaller gadgets such as smartwatches and fitness trackers, as they offer more battery life without making the devices larger, as already seen with the HONOR Watch 5.
You can buy the devices right now
Many of these new gadgets are great on paper but never make it to market. But silicon batteries are really here, and you can buy phones with this technology right now. These Android batteries are only going to become more popular, especially with foldable phones where every millimeter counts.
The only downside is that, except for maybe the OnePlus 13, it may be a while before we can buy the phones with silicon batteries. So we really hope Apple, Google and Samsung pay attention and put this technology in their new smartphones soon.
