Apple needs to grant us independence from the charger! I dare to dream of a world where my iPhone's battery can make it an entire day.
Jenny Chang-Rodriguez/BI
We are still about two months away from the iPhone 16's September release, but rumors are already starting to trickle out about certain aspects of the phone's build.
Yes, the iPhone 16 lineup will have all those fancy and fun new AI ("Apple Intelligence") features that Apple is excited about. But what about the stuff that really matters? Folks, I'm worried.
As my colleague Jordan Hart reported earlier this week about what to expect for the iPhone 16, there's something new potentially going on with the battery. Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst based in Taiwan who looks at Apple's supply chain, has surmised there will be a new type of steel-cased battery that will be removable to comply with European standards.
The good news is this could mean longer battery life (or the same battery life, but with a lighter battery). But a steel-cased battery instead of the current aluminum one might also mean it's more prone to getting hot — something my older phones did a lot. My iPhone 14 Pro Max is fine (for now), but with some of my older phones, I'd find myself cooling down my fingertips on the sweat of a cold drink if I was using my phone for a long time.
Before you get too excited about the potential for longer battery life — the thing we all want — it's not totally clear just how much longer we're talking. According to one report on the rumors about the new phones, the difference in how much charge the battery can store is expected to vary only slightly compared to the iPhone 15 lineup — and in the case of the 16 Plus, it may actually go down.
Look, most likely, the battery life will be slightly improved compared to an iPhone15. How much, we don't know yet.
But if you're considering buying an iPhone 16, chances are your current phone is way older, right? In the last few years, it's made more sense to hold onto a phone for more years instead of upgrading every cycle or even every two cycles (if you do upgrade every year, congrats to you and your checking account). The changes in phones have been incremental — a slightly better camera, maybe a brighter screen.
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The one thing we all want, that we all crave, is much better battery life, not just a small boost. The new AI features might be cool — even more optical zoom would be — but what I really REALLY want is for my phone to last all day without needing to charge by 9 p.m.
I recently got a Series 9 Apple Watch after losing my previous Series 8. And the upgrade in battery life in the Series 9 is — I do not exaggerate — life-changing. I've had several Apple Watches and for the first time, I don't ever have to worry about it running out of charge by the end of the day.
My current phone can't make it through a busy workday without a midday charge — and if I forget to do it on a day I commute into the office I'm really in trouble for my (long) commute home at night. I've caught myself thinking, "I should get a new portable charger." Shudder.
Imagine all the brain space you could claim back if you didn't have to ever worry about your phone battery. If you could just charge it overnight, wake up, use it all day long — even running Maps for a car trip as well as watching half of a four-hour YouTube video about the Disney Star Wars Hotel without your battery level sinking to 5%.
You and I could win Nobel Prizes and learn the viola with all our regained brainpower!
On this Fourth of July, I'd like you to imagine a beautiful land of freedom, the promise of independence from the charging cord. The American Experiment is about ideals and dreams — and we can dream of a world with really, really long battery life.
