iPhone 15 stacked batteries could provide big battery life boost
Thanks to electric cars
The iPhone 15 could use electric vehicle-style stacked batteries on all iPhone 15 models, claims Twitter leaker RGcloudS, meaning Apple's new phone could get a few possible upgrades to take on its rivals next year.
RGcloudS says progress on this technology is "on track, but limited," tipping that the same technology will be found on the Galaxy S24's Ultra and Plus models too. This will apparently unlock 65W charging for Samsung's 2024 flagship.
1/3Stacked battery is on track, but limitedMost likely only for 24U & 24+or just 24Umeanwhile,apple used it on entire iP15 lineup24U & 24+ have "rated" 5000 MaHBut 24U stacked structure is differentto make it cooler, they applied cooling gel. for 65W & stability https://t.co/8khM2oATocJuly 12, 2023
iPhone 15: What's the benefit of stacked batteries?
A stacked battery means greater battery density, as the iPhone will have more milliamp-hour capacity in the same battery footprint. This explains why the rumor mill claims that we'll see little to no size difference between the iPhone 15 series and the current iPhone 14 models, but also larger battery capacities for all iPhone 15s simultaneously.
What are the downsides?
There are two downsides to having denser batteries. One is they run hotter than less dense batteries, meaning Apple will have to work out an effective thermal management system to account for this. iPhones are already notorious for running warm when under load, so hopefully it won't be any worse with these new stacked cells. At least stacked batteries are apparently less of an explosion risk if the worst happens, says RGcloudS.
The other trade-off with a denser battery is charging speed. Part of the reason that iPhones are some of the slowest charging phones on the market is that their batteries are already quite dense compared to Android competitors. Increasing that density further will probably mean even less of a chance Apple will adopt Samsung or OnePlus-style fast charging on the iPhone 15 or any future model.
Faster charging iPhones on the way
That said, RGcloudS does say that Apple's been testing iPhones with up to 40W wired charging and 20W MagSafe wireless charging. This could be an iPhone 16 upgrade, they continue, perhaps meaning more work needs to be done with the new stacked cell design in order to unlock the faster speeds traditional dense batteries can't manage.
The iPhone 15 is tipped for more upgrades aside from the battery update. We're hearing that it'll use USB-C ports for charging for the first time, and that Dynamic Island notches should be on all models, not just the Pros. The iPhone 15 Pro is tipped to add to this with a new A17 chipset according to the tipsters, while the iPhone 15 Pro Max will apparently go another step forward by adding a periscope telephoto camera for enhanced zoom too.
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Richard is based in London, covering news, reviews and how-tos for phones, tablets, gaming, and whatever else people need advice on. Following on from his MA in Magazine Journalism at the University of Sheffield, he's also written for WIRED U.K., The Register and Creative Bloq. When not at work, he's likely thinking about how to brew the perfect cup of specialty coffee.