What’s happened? A reliable leaker has suggested Samsung’s next ultra-thin flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S26 Edge, might pack a bigger battery than its predecessor, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge.
- Tipster UniverseIce posted on X “The battery information I got for the S26 Edge is 4,400mAh.”
- However, it’s worth taking this information with a pinch of salt, as they also note “There seems to be some conflict here, I will double-check the information.”
- This battery capacity is an improvement on earlier rumors which suggested Samsung would bump the power pack to 4,200mAh on the Galaxy S26 Edge.
This is important because: Being able to cram a larger battery into a slender phone is a positive technological achievement, allowing manufacturers to develop a wider range of form factors, without having to compromise so much on battery life.
- The current Galaxy S25 Edge comes with a 3,900mAh battery packed into its svelte 5.8mm frame.
- While the S25 Edge generally impressed in our review, we found the battery life was disappointing, especially when we pushed the phone with gaming.
- If Samsung works out a way to fit a larger power pack into the Galaxy S26 Edge, it should improve battery life – but that’s only part of the problem.
- We also noted that it wasn’t just the size of the battery in the S25 Edge, with heat dissipation also a problem. Samsung will need to find a better way to reduce heat build up if it wants to give us impressive battery life.
Why should I care? An earlier post from UniverseIce suggested the S26 Edge will also be slimmer than its predecessor while utilizing new battery technology to increase capacity. Battery technology is one of the major hurdles companies are yet to truly overcome when it comes to decreasing physical size while increasing longevity.
- Chinese phone maker Honor has been using carbon silicon batteries in its recent foldable phones, allowing it to pack high capacity power packs into extremely thin devices.
- The foldable Honor Magic V5 comes with a sizable 5,820mAh battery (split into two) in a frame which is just 4.1mm thin when unfolded (and 8.8mm folded).
- Plus, with Apple hotly tipped to launch the rumored iPhone Air alongside the iPhone 17 series later this year, the thin-phone competition could be about to explode.
Okay, so what’s next? We’ll be closely watching Apple’s next iPhone launch event – which we expect to happen in mid-September – to see if the iPhone Air does make an appearance. If it does, Samsung will be looking to trump it with the Galaxy S26 Edge in the first half of next year.
