- Samsung explains why the S26 series does not have silicon-carbon batteries
- The technology has not yet passed its “very rigorous validation standards.”
- But Samsung added that “we are preparing it” for future phones
While Samsung’s flagship phones are still among the best, their batteries increasingly leave more to be desired, and that hasn’t changed with the Samsung Galaxy S26 series, as Samsung makes minimal changes to their capabilities or technologies.
While some rivals like OnePlus and Xiaomi have switched to silicon-carbon batteries, which have higher energy density, Samsung has once again stuck with traditional lithium-ion cells for its new S26 line. However, it seems that Samsung is working to make the change in the not-too-distant future.
Speaking at a panel discussion ahead of its Galaxy Unpacked 2026 event, Sung-Hoon Moon (executive vice president and head of the smartphone R&D team) acknowledged in response to a question that, when it comes to batteries, the company may have been “a little uninnovative on that front.”
However, there are solid reasons for this. It looks like silicon-carbon batteries aren’t ready for prime time in a flagship phone of Samsung’s scale, with Sung-Hoon Moon claiming they have to pass the company’s “very rigorous validation standards.” In other words, silicon-carbon batteries can’t do that yet.
Samsung added that the batteries would also have to produce significant real-world benefits. Sung-Hoon Moon said that customer experience remains king and that “once we believe that the silicon battery will also end up improving customer experience, we will take that option into consideration as well.”
While Samsung doubts these batteries will make a big enough difference to our smartphone experience right now, it certainly isn’t ruling them out either.
“So for the silicon battery, we are preparing it,” Sung-Hoon Moon added. That means Samsung is working to join companies like OnePlus and Xiaomi with silicon-carbon battery technology, but it’s still too early for the S26 series. And to be fair, there are a few reasons why this is understandable.
Silicon-carbon batteries have their disadvantages
Look
Silicon-carbon batteries are not without defects. Firstly, they tend to degrade faster than lithium-ion, so while they may start out with a higher capacity, they could wear out much faster.
They also expand more than lithium-ion batteries, which could pose a danger to phones. This is probably something that Samsung is more concerned about than most, given that problems with the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 led to fires and a global recall in 2016.
Of course, phones like the OnePlus 15, Xiaomi 17 Ultra, and others have high-capacity silicon-carbon batteries, and we’ve yet to hear reports of major problems with them. OnePlus also claims that the OnePlus 15, for example, can maintain 80% of its original capacity after four years.
Still, while it seems like Samsung is being overly cautious, the lack of long-term safety data at scale is probably why the phone giant (along with Apple and Google) hasn’t made the leap yet, not even with its new S26 series. But at least now we know that the company is not completely ignoring this promising technology.
Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to receive news, reviews and opinions from our experts in your feeds. Be sure to click the Follow button!
And of course you can also follow TechRadar on TikTok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form and receive regular updates from us on WhatsApp also.
