Why batteries need to improve

While mobile phones are developing rapidly, their battery life remains a concern

If you were to take a random survey among people on the street and if you were to ask them to name two smartphones, it’s probable most of them would say the Apple iPhone and a Samsung model. These two companies have been the dominant forces in the mobile market. Thanks to their research and innovation, everything from built-in features to screen resolution on mobile devices is changing year after year, model after model. In fact the mobile phone has changed and developed so rapidly in the past decade that it seems as though almost anything you can imagine is possible for the future. The only part that hasn’t kept pace with these advances is the battery. Last year, Samsung had to permanently stop production of the Galaxy Note 7 smartphone after it was involved in dozens of fires and explosions worldwide. The company’s investigation found that the problem lay in the battery cell.

This year, Apple had to recall iPhone 6s smartphones manufactured during a particular period because of an issue that caused units to unexpectedly shut down. The company said the fault could be resolved by replacing the battery.

However, by doing so Apple may not have provided a complete solution, as many users of Apple handsets have reported similar issues. Some have claimed that their batteries drained remarkably quickly, or shut off at about 30 per cent life.

Battery issues are common on every mobile device. You buy a handset and, for a while, the battery is strong. You take your phone out in the morning, spend all day at work and still there is enough charge left for the journey home. But less than a year later everything changes. You can practically see the battery meter tick down. The question is why?

In some respects, the problem is that smartphones require more power than ever thanks to more complex processors and larger screens, while batteries are getting smaller as companies try to make phones even thinner. That said, when devices struggle to run for a full day without a recharge, it’s clear that we need something better. Much better.

The mobile world currently depends on lithium-ion batteries. They are powerful, hold more than twice as much energy by weight as the first commercial versions sold by Sony in 1991, and are cheap. But they have their limitations. In particular the graphite anode they generally use has to be fairly large . The problem is this would also increase the size of the phone. This explains why bigger devices such as tablets usually last longer than average-sized mobile phones.

Of course, you can extend the life of your smartphone battery by turning off features such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and background applications, as well as by lowering the brightness. However, that would defeat the whole purpose of having a smartphone.

A more sensible idea would be to improve the battery technology.