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

It looks like

iPhone 17
rumors are hitting continuous today, which is sensible — we’re about 4 months out from launch, so {hardware} particulars have to be locked down forward of mass manufacturing. It takes fairly some time to churn out the tens of millions of models Apple must fulfill worldwide launch demand.

The most recent rumor (through The Information), is that to be able to obtain its ultra-thin 5.5mm physique, the

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

Comparable rumors have emerged round Samsung’s

Galaxy S25 Edge
. In response to WinFuture, the telephone could have a 3,900mAh battery — that is extra capability than the iPhone 16, however beneath 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 increased numbers.

Dealing with the established order

As a tech journalist, I is perhaps an exception, however I discover that almost all telephones nonetheless haven’t got sufficient battery life, by no means thoughts rolling issues again. My present each day driver is an iPhone 16 Professional, which in line with Apple, must be able to as much as 22 hours of (streaming) video playback. Sounds spectacular, proper? In observe, nevertheless, I am struggling to think about how that might be potential. I wish to placed on Reuters’ video briefing whereas I bathe and alter within the morning, and I will 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 beneath 30% by the point I get into mattress, and that is after a 15- to 16-hour day of principally non-video exercise. If I really spent an hour or two streaming YouTube, I would most likely should put my telephone in Low Energy Mode in some unspecified time in the future.

I would 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 should you’ve obtained a telephone just like the Galaxy S25 Extremely or iPhone 16 Professional Max, however solely with gentle utilization. Certainly, battery life has all the time performed second fiddle for many smartphone makers, just because larger batteries are costly whereas being robust to use in advertising campaigns. A 6.9-inch display screen or a 10X telephoto lens is instantly spectacular — it is more durable to wow folks with an additional two or three hours of runtime.

This yr, it looks as if each Apple and Samsung are engaged on the idea that we’ll be wowed by thinness, which is a mistake. It will appeal to some folks, definitely, 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. Metallic 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 may slip out of my fingers with one improper gesture.

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A worrisome route for the longer term

Misusing the newest 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 increased power density. That hasn’t been confirmed, however the tech has been utilized in a number of telephones already, and now appears poised to go mainstream.

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

To be truthful, Apple and Samsung could also be making an attempt to maintain elements prices down and retail costs in verify. Silicon-carbon batteries are costlier to supply in the mean time, so even making an attempt to match the capacities of ordinary lithium-ion batteries could also be troublesome with no chunk into revenue margins. It might be that when 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 really ship a two-day iPhone sooner or later.

Alongside these traces, I am hopeful that each the Air and the Edge will serve a objective 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. As of late, even the $599

iPhone 16e
shares these options.

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

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