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

It seems 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 with a view 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 to 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 because the discontinued MagSafe Battery Pack.

Related rumors have emerged round Samsung’s

Galaxy S25 Edge
. In keeping with WinFuture, the cellphone could 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 larger numbers.

Dealing with the established order

As a tech journalist, I may be an exception, however I discover that the majority 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 in response to Apple, needs to be able to as much as 22 hours of (streaming) video playback. Sounds spectacular, proper? In follow, nevertheless, I am struggling to consider how that may very well be doable. I wish to placed on Reuters’ video briefing whereas I bathe and alter within the morning, and I will generally see the battery drop to 90% or decrease earlier than I even get downstairs for breakfast. On exercise days, it is doable 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 principally non-video exercise. If I truly spent an hour or two streaming YouTube, I would most likely must put my cellphone in Low Energy Mode in some unspecified time in the future.

I would say it is baffling that Apple and Samsung seem like headed within the improper route, however actually, it is not. Each corporations have lengthy put different upgrades forward of battery life. It’s, in principle, doable to make it over a day if you happen to’ve received a cellphone just like the Galaxy S25 Extremely or iPhone 16 Professional Max, however solely with gentle utilization. Certainly, battery life has at all times performed second fiddle for many smartphone makers, just because greater batteries are costly whereas being powerful to take advantage of in advertising campaigns. A 6.9-inch display or a 10X telephoto lens is straight away spectacular — it is more durable to wow individuals with an additional two or three hours of runtime.

This yr, it looks as if each Apple and Samsung are engaged on the belief that we’ll be wowed by thinness, which is a mistake. It may appeal to some individuals, 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 grow to be unwieldly, getting thinner whereas concurrently rising taller, wider, and slipperier. Metallic and glass could also be good aesthetically — however with out a case, skinny gadgets 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 finances nirvana, but to this point.

A worrisome route for the long run

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 larger vitality density. That hasn’t been confirmed, however the tech has been utilized in just a few telephones already, and now appears poised to go mainstream.

If that’s the case, I am anxious {that a} unhealthy 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 gadgets. Ought to the Air and Edge show profitable, we may very well be hit with a wave of copycat gadgets, a few of which can additionally throw battery life underneath the bus. That will take the business 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 components prices down and retail costs in test. Silicon-carbon batteries are costlier to provide in the mean time, so even making an attempt to match the capacities of ordinary lithium-ion batteries could also be tough with out a 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 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 finally pushed manufacturing prices down, making it doable 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 reasonably priced costs, if it does in any respect. I simply know that for now, Apple and Samsung can depend me out of gadgets that scale back battery life with none tangible advantages. It’s going to hardly matter how cool a cellphone seems to be sliding out of my pocket if I am unable to make it to the health club and again with out plugging into my automotive — or from Alberta to Texas with out a battery pack or charging through the flight’s layover. I assume I will nonetheless be bringing my iPad alongside for mid-flight leisure.

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