A new battery tech could lead to 10,000+ mAh Android phones, and it was actually invented by Apple. According to the latest leaks, Android manufacturers are looking into steel-cased battery tech to push energy density past the 10,000 mAh mark.
Xiaomi is looking into metal-case battery tech for its next flagship
Android manufacturers are looking into metal-shell batteries. | Image by Weibo
The report comes from the prolific tipster Digital Chat Station. They posted a cryptic message on Weibo about a Chinese phone company (potentially Xiaomi) trying to replicate the iPhone's metal-case battery in its next flagship series.
This Chinese company will combine the metal shell case technology with stacked silicon or silicon-carbon to achieve battery capacities of 9,000–10,000+ mAh in its next flagship models.
Metal-can battery tech was patented by Apple
Apple's metal can battery patent drawing. | Image by Apple
The latest generation, the iPhone 18 series, also uses this metal-shell battery tech, and according to the tipster, this is one of the reasons for the battery gains Apple was able to achieve with the iPhone 18 Pro Max.
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Metal-can battery versus aluminum pouch
iPhone 16 metal can battery next to a regular pouch battery. | Image by iFixit
One of the key issues — or should I say specifics — of lithium-ion battery tech is that the battery cell expands (cell swelling) during charge cycles. Using soft aluminum pouches requires additional internal space inside the phone to account for this swelling, effectively limiting the capacity you can fit inside the chassis.
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A rigid metal shell casing deals with this problem by mechanically resisting the swelling, thus allowing for more tightly packed batteries and higher capacities as a result.
Android flagships with metal-can batteries?
Android phones with huge batteries are coming. | Image by Realme
Android manufacturers have gone a different route when trying to expand battery capacity. Honor and Xiaomi pioneered silicon-carbon battery tech, where silicon is imbued inside the anode to increase capacity.
Silicon is much more energy-dense, but it's fragile and expands when charged. Engineers are tackling these issues by coating the anode with different structural materials to limit the risk of expansion.
Applying metal-can battery tech to a silicon-carbon battery or a stacked battery — where the cathode and anode layers are laminated and stacked in zig-zag sheets — could result in a further increase in capacity.
We've already seen Android phones surpassing the 10,000 mAh threshold. The latest Xiaomi flagship phone, the Xiaomi 18 Pro Max, features a massive 8,500 mAh battery in a very slim body.
Adopting this metal-shell battery design could result in 10,000+ mAh flagship Android phones in the very near future. I personally would rather get the solid-state smartphone battery we've been waiting for, but a 10,000 mAh silicon-carbon battery encased in a metal shell doesn't sound too bad while I wait.
Read more about advances in smartphone battery technology here:
Mariyan, a tech enthusiast with a background in Nuclear Physics and Journalism, brings a unique perspective to PhoneArena. His childhood curiosity for gadgets evolved into a professional passion for technology, leading him to the role of Editor-in-Chief at PCWorld Bulgaria before joining PhoneArena. Mariyan's interests range from mainstream Android and iPhone debates to fringe technologies like graphene batteries and nanotechnology. Off-duty, he enjoys playing his electric guitar, practicing Japanese, and revisiting his love for video games and Haruki Murakami's works.
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