The iPhone 17 Air and Galaxy S25 Edge’s largest compromises make them a no-go for me

It appears like

iPhone 17
rumors are hitting continuous lately, which is smart — we’re about 4 months out from launch, so {hardware} particulars should be locked down forward of mass manufacturing. It takes fairly some time to churn out the thousands and thousands of items Apple must fulfill worldwide launch demand.

The newest rumor (by way of The Information), is that to be able to obtain its ultra-thin 5.5mm physique, the

iPhone 17 Air
will sport a severe compromise in battery life. How a lot? Allegedly, Apple’s inner testing means that simply 60 to 70% of homeowners will be capable of make it a full day on a single cost, down from about 80 to 90% for different iPhone fashions. The corporate is even mentioned to be getting ready a brand new battery case, one thing it hasn’t supplied for the reason that discontinued MagSafe Battery Pack.

Related rumors have emerged round Samsung’s

Galaxy S25 Edge
. In keeping with WinFuture, the cellphone might have a 3,900mAh battery — that is extra capability than the iPhone 16, however under the common S25’s 4,000mAh, and far lower than the S25 Extremely’s 5,000mAh. That is put me off each Samsung and Apple’s upcoming “vanguard” telephones, and never simply because everybody prefers greater numbers.

Dealing with the established order

As a tech journalist, I is perhaps an exception, however I discover that almost all telephones nonetheless do not have sufficient battery life, by no means thoughts rolling issues again. My present every day driver is an iPhone 16 Professional, which based on Apple, needs to be able to as much as 22 hours of (streaming) video playback. Sounds spectacular, proper? In observe, nevertheless, I am struggling to consider how that may very well be potential. I prefer to placed on Reuters’ video briefing whereas I bathe and alter within the morning, and I am going to typically see the battery drop to 90% or decrease earlier than I even get downstairs for breakfast. On exercise days, it is potential for the battery to dip under 30% by the point I get into mattress, and that is after a 15- to 16-hour day of largely non-video exercise. If I truly spent an hour or two streaming YouTube, I might most likely should put my cellphone in Low Energy Mode sooner or later.

I might say it is baffling that Apple and Samsung look like headed within the improper route, however actually, it isn’t. Each firms have lengthy put different upgrades forward of battery life. It’s, in concept, potential to make it over a day in the event you’ve received a cellphone just like the Galaxy S25 Extremely or iPhone 16 Professional Max, however solely with mild utilization. Certainly, battery life has at all times performed second fiddle for many smartphone makers, just because larger batteries are costly whereas being powerful to take advantage of in advertising campaigns. A 6.9-inch display or a 10X telephoto lens is instantly spectacular — it is tougher to wow individuals with an additional two or three hours of runtime.

This 12 months, it looks like each Apple and Samsung are engaged on the belief that we’ll be wowed by thinness, which is a mistake. It’ll appeal to some individuals, actually, however we’re not within the 2000s anymore — telephones have been skinny for a very long time. Nobody I do know is complaining about thickness. If something, the problem appears to be that telephones have develop into unwieldly, getting thinner whereas concurrently rising taller, wider, and slipperier. Steel and glass could also be good aesthetically — however with no case, skinny units like my iPhone and my spouse’s OnePlus 9 5G really feel like they might slip out of my palms with one improper gesture.

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So near price range nirvana, but up to now.

A worrisome route for the longer term

Misusing the most recent tech

Each the iPhone 17 Air and S25 Edge could also be based mostly on silicon-carbon batteries, a variation of the lithium-ion batteries we’re used to, merely with greater power density. That hasn’t been confirmed, however the tech has been utilized in a couple of telephones already, and now appears poised to go mainstream.

In that case, I am apprehensive {that a} unhealthy precedent is rising. After I first heard about silicon-carbon, my hope was that we might get extra longevity out of telephones the identical dimension, or a minimum of equal longevity from barely smaller units. Ought to the Air and Edge show profitable, we may very well be hit with a wave of copycat units, a few of which can additionally throw battery life underneath the bus. That will take the trade backward at a time when persons are extra depending on smartphones than ever.

To be honest, Apple and Samsung could also be making an attempt to maintain elements prices down and retail costs in test. Silicon-carbon batteries are costlier to supply in the mean time, so even making an attempt to match the capacities of normal lithium-ion batteries could also be tough with no chew into revenue margins. It may very well be that after manufacturing prices come down, we’ll see capacities go up once more, fulfilling the brand new tech’s promise. Who is aware of — perhaps Apple will truly ship a two-day iPhone sooner or later.

Alongside these traces, I am hopeful that each the Air and the Edge will serve a goal just like the iPhone X, which Apple launched in 2017. This was the primary iPhone with an OLED show and a

Face ID
digital camera, costing a then-unprecedented $999. Many individuals balked at it, however gross sales of the iPhone X, iPhone XS, and iPhone 11 Professional ultimately pushed manufacturing prices down, making it potential to place each OLED and Face ID on the $799 iPhone 12. Today, even the $599

iPhone 16e
shares these options.

Time will inform how briskly the brand new battery tech bridges over to helpful capacities at reasonably priced costs, if it does in any respect. I simply know that for now, Apple and Samsung can rely me out of units that scale back battery life with none tangible advantages. It’s going to hardly matter how cool a cellphone appears sliding out of my pocket if I can not make it to the gymnasium and again with out plugging into my automobile — or from Alberta to Texas with no battery pack or charging throughout the flight’s layover. I suppose I am going to nonetheless be bringing my iPad alongside for mid-flight leisure.

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