According to a report on the Korean-language site ET News (via 9to5Mac) earlier this week, Apple is developing a longer-lasting “next-gen battery” for use in its mobile products. The tech has already been in development for several years, in fact, but has yet to be officially revealed.
The site’s anonymous industry sources claim the project is slated to bear fruit in 2025, from which time it is hoped new products will be able to have the new-design batteries installed and enjoy their upgraded performance.
“Apple is directly participating in the development of the materials that make up the battery, such as the anode and cathode materials,” ET News writes (as interpreted by Google Chrome’s translation tool). “It is aiming to develop a completely new battery with significantly improved performance compared to the existing one.”
The principle technical change relates to the silicon content, which is set to increase “dramatically,” according to ET News. “Using silicon instead of graphite can increase battery capacity and shorten charging and discharging times,” the site explains–although this also brings the risk of physical expansion, a problem with which Apple is believed to have made progress.
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
Our colleagues on Macwelt, while researching the story, found further hints about Apple’s current priorities in its patent activity. “Since the beginning of 2016, we have used Google’s patent search to find around 200 Apple patents that directly relate to batteries,” the site reports. “The company was particularly active in this area in 2020.”
ET News says the focus right now is on mobile, and illustrates its news story with a photo of an iPhone, but it’s believed that the battery project was closely associated with the development of the so-called Apple Car in the early days. Indeed, improved battery performance would be valued across a huge range of Apple products, from MacBooks down to AirPods.
Nevertheless, battery performance is particularly important for the iPhone, something which Apple has acknowledged with numerous upgrades in recent years. For the iPhone 15 launch, for instance, the company announced a raft of anti-degradation features, while the estimated battery life of the largest models has increased from 20 hours of video playback on the 12 Pro Max, to 28 on the 13 Pro Max and 29 on the 14 Pro Max.
Could this new project allow for a more “dramatic” increase for a future iPhone generation? Perhaps–but with a planned launch of 2025 that would mean we won’t see the improvements until the iPhone 17… and that’s assuming the project doesn’t hit any obstacles between now and then.
Author: David Price, Editor
David has loved the iPhone since covering the original 2007 launch; later his obsession expanded to include iPad and Apple Watch. He offers advice to owners (and prospective owners) of these devices.