Samsung Explains Why It Hasn’t Adopted Silicon-Carbon Batteries Yet

Samsung’s latest Galaxy S phones are quite infamous when it comes to battery upgrades. Take, for example, two of the latest Galaxy S26 phones: the Galaxy S26 Ultra and the Galaxy S26+ don’t come with any increase in battery capacity (mAh), while the Galaxy S26 gets a modest battery upgrade.

On the other hand, you’ve likely seen Chinese phone makers pushing battery sizes higher and higher. So much so that there are phones with batteries close to 10,000mAh, twice as much as the Galaxy S26 Ultra, and guess what the secret sauce is? It’s silicon-carbon batteries, which allow more juice in a thinner body.

Samsung confirms it’s actively working on silicon-carbon battery development

Even so, Samsung has largely lagged behind on battery tech and continues to use traditional lithium-ion batteries. The good news, though, is that Samsung has confirmed it’s actively working on silicon-carbon battery development. At yesterday’s Galaxy Unpacked in San Francisco, the company’s Executive Vice President, Jeong Seung Moon, confirmed it.

Speaking to select media (h/t Android Headlines), Moon said silicon-carbon batteries have to meet strict internal testing requirements before they can be adopted. He described the technology as not yet ready for a company operating at Samsung’s scale. Although silicon-carbon batteries have been used in smartphones for several years, Samsung seems unwilling to adopt them until they clearly meet its durability and safety standards.

The company says it’ll introduce the technology once it can meaningfully improve the user experience without compromising safety or reliability. In other words, Samsung is taking a more cautious approach than its competitors. Maybe in a few years, we’ll finally see Galaxy S phones with silicon-carbon batteries under the hood.

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