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The Galaxy S26 Could Catch Up To Chinese Rivals With A Long-Awaited Battery Boost
Ryan Haines / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Samsung is reportedly thinking about bringing silicon-carbon batteries to the Galaxy S26 series.
- This would come almost two years after the first Chinese brands adopted the technology.
- Silicon-carbon batteries enable greater capacity without a corresponding increase in physical size.
Most Chinese smartphone brands have adopted silicon-carbon batteries in their best Android phones, opening the door to increased capacity. Samsung missed this technology on the Galaxy S25 series, but it now sounds like we could see it in the Galaxy S26 range.
Korean outlet FNN News reports that Samsung is considering silicon-carbon batteries for the Galaxy S26 series. An unnamed Samsung official also told the publication that the battery capacity of these phones will increase if Samsung uses this tech. That would be a relief as Samsung’s three Galaxy S phones have long offered 4,000mAh to 5,000mAh batteries.
“If silicon anode materials are used, the capacity will increase, but there will be a lifespan issue, so improvements will be needed,” the official was quoted as saying. “It has not been confirmed, but we are studying various ways to improve it.”
The outlet also claims that Samsung has shied away from major battery upgrades in its phones as its high production volume means “product stability problems can become serious” in the event of a defect.
Chinese rivals ahead of the pack (again)
This wouldn’t be the first time we’ve heard about the Galaxy S26 family offering silicon-carbon batteries. Prominent leakers first made these claims last month. But this new report certainly adds more weight to these assertions.
Silicon-carbon batteries enable greater capacity for the same size as a conventional lithium-ion battery, with the HONOR Magic 5 Pro debuting this tech. This has resulted in phones with huge batteries like the OnePlus 13 (6,000mAh), vivo X200 Pro (6,000mAh), and the RedMagic 10 Pro (7,050mAh). This battery tech also allows brands to shrink the physical size of their phone batteries while still maintaining the same capacity, enabling slimmer designs or freeing up space for other upgrades.
For what it’s worth, OnePlus and OPPO claim that their recent phones with silicon-carbon batteries will drop to 80% effective capacity after an impressive 1,600 charging cycles. Apple claims that its recent iPhones (using lithium-ion batteries) are rated for 80% capacity after 1,000 charging cycles, while Samsung hasn’t issued charging cycle information for its phones in recent years.
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