It's mind-blowing how slow the advance of batteries is compared to every other kind of technology
this post was submitted on 04 Jul 2023
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Yeah, until they make a new kind of battery it will stay that way
I mean sure, but it’s also kind of the opposite. Energy density has increased dramatically from lead acid technologies.
The real issue is you’re not going to leave leftover power untapped, so the tech will always exceed the battery as they try to leech every last drop of power from the system.
Sorta like an energy chicken and an egg situation.
Not every other kind of technology though. I think the problem is that batteries get lumped in the same category as "modern tech" (e.g., microchips and storage), rather than with energy tech.
For example, Wikipedia says a poat-war VW bug got around 35mpg. That's similar to the combined mileage of a Civic that's 50 years newer. Yes, the Civic is more powerful and weighs more
but we're not talking Moore's law improvements.
Same if you look at power. A 1967 Corvette 427 was listed at 430 horsepower; a modern base Vette is 490 (or 670 for the Z06). Sure, the mileage is way better, etc., but again, hardly Moore's law improvements.
Energy and power are tricky.
The 67 was measured with no accessories or load. It would be about 350 bhp today. It also had ledded fuel that would be like running on only e85 and with no cat today. If you had that the Z06 would be well over 1000 hp with the old rating.
Battery tech has the limitations of chemistry to deal with. A ton of cutting-edge work is being done with exotic materials, but it needs to be ready for the mass market before we see any groundbreaking improvements.
More like Apple is slow to advance their battery size. Samsung is offering like, 5000mAh batteries in their A series phones (Hyperbole yes, but still)
Optimization is more important than just sticking a larger battery somewhere.
Ehhhhh, when your making a completely integrated device, Optimization is the core. And, an iPhone with a 5000mAh+ battery would probably last 2 whole days.
Idk what phone you have but my 13 pro easily lasts 2 days for me, light usage I could probably get 3.
Right now a Galaxy S20FE. I tend to charge 85% and go down to 20% and it barely gets me through 1 day that way right now due to excessive heat in Texas, which is where I live. Couple that with having to Wireless Charge as my only source of Charging due to my USB Port being broken, and you have a recipe for crap battery life.
Besides bigger batteries make phones heavier pretty quickly. For mobile devices, optimized system and apps is very important.
Bigger battery + the change to USB-C would be awesome.
Agreed, I would like to rarely have to charge and when I do need to it’s with a cable I can use with all my other devices.
Hoping for a 15 mini 🤞
Really pleased with the size of my 12 mini and gutted that the Mini line is over after the 13 mini.
A 15 mini with superior battery life would be great, even if it did thicken up to house a larger battery.
I see that the source is unproven but if true, I’m happy for these changes. That said, I really want this phone to be much lighter. It is noticeably heavy. Let’s get rid of the stainless steel on the Pro.
I like the weight. I’m not a fan of the ultra lightweight design. It feels to fragile.
Requesting a iPhone 15 cast iron version.
c/CastIron will go wild>
“Seasoning my new iPhone 15 Pro Max CastIron 100 times”
“Guys I know the instructions say I can use any odorless cooking oil, but is there anything wrong with just buying the $89 Apple oil? I want to have a matching set”
Only if you rub it in with the Apple Seasoning Cloth.
I like the weight. I’m not a fan of the ultra lightweight design. It feels to fragile.
I think that would be a regression. When I first held an iPhone 14 Pro, I was like "Wow, this is hefty, but I really like it!" and right now I daily drive a Galaxy S20FE, which is glass back and metal sides. My phone feels like cheap garbage compared to a 14 Pro.
And the S20FE was basically a mid-cycle refresh of the S20 before the S21 came out.
I thought I had read, several years ago, that Apple dumps a bunch of money into R&D of new tech in exchange for exclusive use of that tech for a period of time after it hits the market (e.g. ultra high-res displays on the iPhone 4). Seems like they haven’t done that as much in recent years but I’ve been patiently waiting for graphene batteries. Maybe this is the year 🤞
i just want a new mini otherwise my 13 mini has to stay alive for quite a few years... I just hate big phones!
I thought I had read, several years ago, that Apple dumps a bunch of money into R&D of new tech in exchange for exclusive use of that tech for a period of time after it hits the market (e.g. ultra high-res displays on the iPhone 4). Seems like they haven’t done that as much in recent years but I’ve been patiently waiting for graphene batteries. Maybe this is the year 🤞
I’d welcome this. My ancient moto phone had a 5000 mah battery in it and is thinner than my iPhone 13. Idk why they haven’t crammed more in before now.
- iPhone 15: 3877mAh (18% increase)
- iPhone 15 Plus: 4912mAh (13.6% increase)
- iPhone 15 Pro: 3650mAh (14.1% increase)
- iPhone 15 Pro Max: 4852mAh (10.9% increase)
That's still less than what you can get from the Samsung Galaxy lineup. This is really just another catch-up story by Apple. But of course, it is always spun as some genius innovation that Apple invented just now...
IMO majority of iPhone users couldn’t care less about any Android phone performance. It’s all about year after year iPhone vs IPhone specs.
I mean you’re right, but for those of us who are happily within the iOS ecosystem and have no intention of even considering changing, it’s good to get some progress on this front. My alternative isn’t to move to a Samsung, it’s to make do with whatever battery is in the latest iPhone Pro model and hope for bigger gains in future releases.
I don’t think anyone is spinning a bigger battery as genius innovation by Apple, but a bigger battery is nice to have. I wouldn’t even say this is Apple catching up though, battery life comparisons between the 14 Pro Max and S23 Ultra have been favorable to the iPhone and that’s with the Samsung having a 16% bigger battery.
Plus it’s a good thing to have companies competing with each other. I’m glad Samsung is putting bigger batteries in their phones if it gets Apple to continue improving battery life.
Yea "battery life" is the intersection of energy consumption and energy storage. Focusing purely on the spec sheet (the size of the battery) makes a very incomplete (and frequently biased) comparison.
Even if it's still less than android phones, you still charge them all daily. It's a question of efficiency really.