‘We are getting it ready': Samsung explains why the Galaxy S26 didn't get a silicon carbon battery upgrade | Tech Radar

Overview

‘We are getting it ready': Samsung explains why the Galaxy S26 didn't get a silicon carbon battery upgrade

Silicon carbon still isn't quite ready for Samsung prime-time

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The Samsung Galaxy S26 family (Image credit: Samsung)

Samsung explains why the S26 series hasn't got silicon carbon batteries

The tech hasn't yet passed its "very rigorous validation standards"

But Samsung added that "we are getting it ready" for future phones

While Samsung’s flagship phones are still among the best around, their batteries are increasingly leaving something to be desired – and that hasn’t changed with the Samsung Galaxy S26 series, with Samsung making minimal changes to their capacities or technologies.

While some rivals like One Plus and Xiaomi have switched over to silicon carbon batteries, which have higher energy densities, Samsung has again stuck with traditional lithium-ion cells for its new S26 lineup. However, it sounds like Samsung is working on making the switch in the not-too-distant future.

Speaking at a roundtable before its Galaxy Unpacked 2026 event, Sung-Hoon Moon (Executive VP and Head of Smartphone R&D team) acknowledged in response to a question that, when it comes to batteries, the company may have been “a bit un-innovative on that front.”

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There are solid reasons for this, though. It seems that silicon carbon batteries aren't quite ready for prime-time on a flagship phone at Samsung's scale, with Sung-Hoon Moon stating that they have to pass the company's “very rigorous validation standards”. In other words, silicon carbon batteries can't quite do that yet.

Samsung added that the batteries would also need to produce significant real-world gains. Sung-Hoon Moon said that customer experience is still king and that “once we believe that the silicon battery would also end up improving the customer experience, then we will take that option into consideration as well.”

While Samsung is dubious that these batteries would make a big enough difference to our smartphone experience right now, it also certainly isn't ruling them out.

“So for the silicon battery, we are getting it ready,” Sung-Hoon Moon added. That means Samsung is working on joining the likes of One Plus and Xiaomi with silicon carbon battery tech, but that it still came too soon for the S26 series. And to be fair, there are a few reasons why that's understandable.

Silicon carbon batteries aren't without their flaws. Firstly, they tend to degrade faster than lithium-ion ones – so while they might start at a higher capacity, they could wear out a lot faster.

They also expand more than lithium-ion batteries, which could present a hazard in phones. This is likely something Samsung is more worried about than most, given that issues with the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 caused fires and a global recall in 2016.

Of course, the likes of the One Plus 15, the Xiaomi 17 Ultra and other phones have high-capacity silicon carbon batteries, and we haven't heard reports of major issues with them yet. One Plus also claims that the One Plus 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 likely the reason why the phone giant – along with Apple and Google – hasn't yet made the leap, even with its new S26 series. But at least we now know that the company isn’t completely ignoring this promising tech.

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James is a freelance phones, tablets and wearables writer and sub-editor at Tech Radar. He has a love for everything ‘smart’, from watches to lights, and can often be found arguing with AI assistants or drowning in the latest apps. James also contributes to 3G.co.uk, 4G.co.uk and 5G.co.uk and has written for T3, Digital Camera World, Clarity Media and others, with work on the web, in print and on TV.

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Key Takeaways

• ‘We are getting it ready': Samsung explains why the Galaxy S26 didn't get a silicon carbon battery upgrade

• Silicon carbon still isn't quite ready for Samsung prime-time

• When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission

• The Samsung Galaxy S26 family (Image credit: Samsung)

• Samsung explains why the S26 series hasn't got silicon carbon batteries