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

Abstract

Each the iPhone 17 Air and Galaxy S25 Edge are anticipated to compromise on battery life in trade for thinness.
That is a step backwards, contemplating that nobody is asking for thinner telephones, but individuals are all the time asking for extra runtime.
It might be that the telephones are a needed step in direction of a greater future, however as rumored, they will not be getting my cash.

It seems like

iPhone 17
rumors are hitting continuous lately, which is sensible — we’re about 4 months out from launch, so {hardware} particulars must be locked down forward of mass manufacturing. It takes fairly some time to churn out the thousands and thousands of items Apple must fulfill worldwide launch demand.

The newest rumor (by way of 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 stated to be making 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 beneath 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 increased numbers.

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Presumably, however you should not get one straight from Apple.

Dealing with the established order

As a tech journalist, I is likely to be an exception, however I discover that almost all telephones nonetheless haven’t got sufficient battery life, by no means thoughts rolling issues again. My present each day driver is an iPhone 16 Professional, which in keeping with Apple, ought to be able to as much as 22 hours of (streaming) video playback. Sounds spectacular, proper? In follow, nonetheless, I am struggling to think about how that might be attainable. I prefer to placed on Reuters’ video briefing whereas I bathe and alter within the morning, and I am going to typically see the battery drop to 90% or decrease earlier than I even get downstairs for breakfast. On exercise days, it is attainable for the battery to dip beneath 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 in all probability must put my cellphone in Low Energy Mode sooner or later.

This 12 months, it looks as if each Apple and Samsung are engaged on the belief that we’ll be wowed by thinness, which is a mistake.

I would say it is baffling that Apple and Samsung seem like headed within the incorrect path, however actually, it is not. Each firms have lengthy put different upgrades forward of battery life. It’s, in idea, attainable to make it over a day should you’ve acquired a cellphone just like the Galaxy S25 Extremely or iPhone 16 Professional Max, however solely with mild utilization. Certainly, battery life has all the time performed second fiddle for many smartphone makers, just because greater batteries are costly whereas being powerful to take advantage of in advertising and marketing campaigns. A 6.9-inch display screen or a 10X telephoto lens is straight away spectacular — it is tougher to wow folks with an additional two or three hours of runtime.

This 12 months, 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 should entice some folks, actually, 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 turn out to be unwieldly, getting thinner whereas concurrently rising taller, wider, and slipperier. Steel and glass could also be good aesthetically — however and not using a case, skinny units like my iPhone and my spouse’s OnePlus 9 5G really feel like they might slip out of my fingers with one incorrect gesture.

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So near price range nirvana, but to date.

A worrisome path for the long run

Misusing the newest tech

Galaxy S25 Edge on display at Galaxy Unpacked. January 2025.

Each the iPhone 17 Air and S25 Edge could also be primarily based on silicon-carbon batteries, a variation of the lithium-ion batteries we’re used to, merely with increased power 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.

In that case, I am anxious {that a} unhealthy precedent is rising. Once I first heard about silicon-carbon, my hope was that we might get extra longevity out of telephones the identical measurement, or a minimum of equal longevity from barely smaller units. Ought to the Air and Edge show profitable, we might be hit with a wave of copycat units, a few of which can additionally throw battery life below the bus. That will take the trade backward at a time when individuals are extra depending on smartphones than ever.

To be honest, Apple and Samsung could also be making an attempt to maintain elements prices down and retail costs in test. Silicon-carbon batteries are costlier to provide in the meanwhile, so even making an attempt to match the capacities of normal lithium-ion batteries could also be troublesome and not using a chunk into revenue margins. It might 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 — possibly Apple will truly ship a two-day iPhone sooner or later.

Ought to the Air and Edge show profitable, we’ll inevitably be hit with a wave of copycat units, a few of which can additionally throw battery life below the bus.

Alongside these traces, I am hopeful that each the Air and the Edge will serve a goal just like the iPhone X, which Apple launched in 2017. This was the primary iPhone with an OLED show and a

Face ID
digicam, 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 attainable to place each OLED and Face ID on the $799 iPhone 12. Lately, even the $599

iPhone 16e
shares these options.

Time will inform how briskly the brand new battery tech bridges over to helpful capacities at inexpensive costs, if it does in any respect. I simply know that for now, Apple and Samsung can rely me out of units that scale back battery life with none tangible advantages. It’s going to hardly matter how cool a cellphone appears sliding out of my pocket if I can not make it to the fitness center and again with out plugging into my automobile — or from Alberta to Texas and not using a battery pack or charging throughout the flight’s layover. I assume I am going to nonetheless be bringing my iPad alongside for mid-flight leisure.