Samsung scores 'stagnant' for 6 years

Since the Galaxy Note 7 incident, Samsung has stuck with the 5,000 mAh battery for 6 years, while Apple has quietly narrowed the gap and surpassed its Korean rival for the first time.

For the past 6 years, Samsung's Galaxy S Ultra series has barely had a battery upgrade, remaining at 5,000 mAh. While many competitors have continued to improve capacity and charging technology, the Korean tech giant has remained loyal to this familiar number, a choice shaped by both technical, historical and legal factors.

Since the Galaxy S20 Ultra launched in early 2020, every Galaxy S generation since has had the same 5,000 mAh battery. Despite the changes in the smartphone world , from the pandemic to the explosion of AI on mobile devices, Samsung's battery specs have remained the same. Leaks about the Galaxy S26 Ultra, expected to launch in 2026, suggest the company could continue this trend.

Fall behind competitors

In 2020, a 5,000 mAh battery was impressive. It helped the Galaxy S20 Ultra become one of the phones with the best battery life on the market. But after 6 years, this capacity is no longer surprising, especially when Chinese manufacturers continue to introduce silicon-carbon batteries exceeding 6,000 mAh, even 7,000 mAh.

Meanwhile, Apple, whose iPhones used to have rather modest battery capacities, is gradually catching up with market trends. From the 3,969 mAh battery on the iPhone 11 Pro Max, the company has gradually increased it to 5,088 mAh on the iPhone 17 Pro Max, officially surpassing the battery level of the Galaxy S25 Ultra.

Battery capacity is no longer the strong point of Samsung Galaxy. Photo: Bloomberg .

Capacity isn't the only factor that determines the experience, though. In recent years, Samsung has focused on optimizing performance and saving energy rather than expanding battery size. New generations of Galaxy S Ultra offer better battery life thanks to low-power display panels and carefully tuned operating systems.

In fact, the Galaxy S23 Ultra has a significantly longer battery life than the S22 Ultra despite still using a 5,000 mAh battery, proving the right strategy that Samsung is pursuing.

Meanwhile, Apple has shown rapid but inconsistent progress. Some lines like the iPhone 15 Pro Max have recorded reduced battery life compared to the previous generation, before improving in subsequent models. However, the general trend of the bitten Apple is still increasing steadily and the company has significantly shortened the gap with its Korean rival in the race for battery capacity.

Legal regulations

The reason why Samsung is cautious about battery capacity stems from the Galaxy Note 7 battery explosion in 2016. The incident caused many devices to explode, forcing the Korean technology giant to recall all products and suffer heavy losses. After this incident, the company applied a strict 8-step battery testing process, from durability testing to safety testing in extreme environments.

Since then, no Samsung phone has had a similar problem. However, that expensive experience has made the company cautious about any changes related to batteries.

Samsung finds it difficult to upgrade battery capacity due to complex safety regulations. Photo: Bloomberg .

Not only safety factors, but also the international legal framework is a major barrier that makes it difficult for Samsung to surpass the 5,000 mAh mark. In the US, regulation 49 CFR §173.185 limits the capacity of each lithium-ion battery cell to 20 Wh. At a voltage of about 3.8 V, Samsung's 5,000 mAh battery reaches 19 Wh, just under the allowable limit. If the company wants to increase the capacity, the company must split the battery into two separate cells or comply with stricter regulations on transporting hazardous materials, increasing the cost and complexity of production.

In Europe, although there are no specific regulations on battery capacity, the safety standards of the European Union and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) still consider large capacity batteries as “dangerous goods”, requiring special certification processes.

As a result, many Chinese phones sold internationally have to reduce battery capacity to meet shipping requirements. Vivo X300 Pro is a typical example, with the domestic version having a 6,510 mAh battery but the global version only has a capacity of 5,440 mAh.

In this light, Samsung's decision to stick with a 5,000 mAh battery isn't necessarily a sign of conservatism, but rather a reflection of how the company balances performance, safety, and compliance.

Source: https://znews.vn/ly-do-samsung-khong-nang-cap-dung-luong-pin-post1595047.html