But… seven years with the same 5,000 mAh capacity cell in the Galaxy S Ultra models (yes, including the Galaxy S26 Ultra)?!
A Galaxy S25 FE unit has reportedly gone up in flames out of the blue while charging. | Image by PhoneArena
To make things worse, none of these flagships comes with blazing-fast charging speeds. If one wants to enjoy such charging speeds, one has to turn their back on Samsung, Apple and Google and get the next ticket to Beijing, metaphorically speaking.It’s Xiaomi, Vivo, Oppo, Huawei, OnePlus and the rest of the gang that allow you to charge your phone superfast.
The practical aspect of being able to top up in 25–30 minutes aside – I’m not talking about pragmatism. Dare I say, I’m talking about your life.
The Find X7 Ultra is my daily driver. | Image by PhoneArena
I’m rocking the Oppo Find X7 Ultra and its 100W charging speeds allow me to go from 0 to 100% in no time. If I’ve been exploring the streets throughout the day, taking hundreds (and even thousands) of photos, I get back home and I plug it in.
By the time I’m done with the quick shower, I have enough power to last me throughout the evening and the night. The next day I plug it back in to top it back up to 100% while I’m taking the morning shower.
This is precisely what keeps me safe from such horror situations, like the one I told you about yesterday:
I love gadgets, but I don’t fully trust them. I understand how cool it is to wake up to a 100%-charged phone, but I’m a strong advocate against leaving your phone plugged in all night long. Especially leaving it on your bed or nightstand.That’s why for me, the 100W charging speeds are essential and I won’t give them up.
The OnePlus 15 has a big battery that charges fast. | Image by PhoneArena
Yes, accidents can occur and nobody is 100% safe. But I, personally, prefer to deal with an exploding phone while I’m awake and not in the middle of the night. Smoke can creep up on you like that.
Beyond charging speeds, I’m also quite unimpressed with what Samsung, Apple and Google have been doing with their flagships in terms of sheer battery capacity.
The Galaxy S26 received a battery boost, but nothing to write home about. | Image by PhoneArena
I’m fully aware that the Galaxy S26 Ultra can keep the lights on for quite longer periods of time than the Galaxy S20 Ultra, despite that both have a 5,000 mAh cell inside:
Apple is not excused as well:
The 2020 iPhone 12 Pro came with a 2,815 mAh battery and 5 hours of average screen time. Six years later, the new 4,252 mAh cell in the iPhone 17 Pro will last you 6 hours and 40 minutes. That’s an improvement of ~16 minutes of extra screen time per year.
Meanwhile, the Honor Magic 8 Lite – a device with a 7,500 mAh battery – will last you (on average) almost 11 and a half hours.
Which means that Samsung flagships will catch up with the 2025 Honor Magic 8 Lite in 13–14 years – around the year 2039–2040. It’ll take over 17 years for Apple (around the year 2043) to release the eleven-and-a-half-hours-phone.
That’s if current trends continue in the near future. Let’s hope they don’t.
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