I’m unlikely to upgrade to one of Apple’s iPhone 15 models because the iPhone 14 Pro is still an incredible device that should be good enough for at least another year. But I do appreciate all the iPhone 15 battery leaks out there, as I’ve come to realize battery life is the most important iPhone feature right now. We’ve reached a point where the processor and camera upgrades might no longer deliver major upgrades with each new generation.
But battery life can improve significantly on the iPhone 15, and especially on the Pro models, which will ship with Apple’s new A17 Bionic chip under the hood. Also, all iPhone 15 variants should feature larger battery capacities than their predecessors.
The most exciting iPhone 15 battery rumor detailed Apple’s purported adoption of battery tech similar to the batteries that some electric car use. Stacked batteries have various advantages, including support for faster charging speeds. But a new development says that Apple will equip the iPhone 16 series with stacked batteries rather than this year’s new models.
Twitter user RGcloudS said on Twitter a few days ago that Samsung is struggling to get stacked batteries for all Galaxy S24 models, whereas Apple supposedly secured supply for all four iPhone 15 models.
Stacked batteries can offer better energy density than traditional batteries without increasing their size. They also dissipate heat better and offer improved battery health. Moreover, stacked batteries can support faster charging speeds.
The leaker did say they heard of iPhone 15 or iPhone 16 getting 40W wired charging speeds and 20W MagSafe charging speeds. Both are upgrades over the current charging rates of 20W and 15W, respectively.
In a follow-up, RGcloudS said that the stacked battery tech is “100% confirmed” for the iPhone 16 but not the iPhone 15 models. The leaker uses “confirmed” rather loosely here. Only Apple can confirm such tech, and Apple will never spill secrets ahead of time.
Interestingly, the leaker made the correction while detailing camera upgrades for the iPhone 16 series. Apparently, the rear camera module might have at least one larger sensor. And Apple will want to upgrade battery capacity despite the sensor taking up more room. Stacked batteries might be the perfect solution in this case.
A separate iPhone 16 camera rumor said a few days ago Apple is looking at giving the iPhone a larger telephoto camera.
I’ll also add that Apple’s extra taptic engines, which are necessary for solid-state buttons, would occupy more space. That’s if Apple will move to solid-state buttons on all iPhone 16 models in 2024.
On that note, recent rumors indicate that Apple will increase the battery capacities of all four iPhone 15 models compared to the iPhone 14 variants. Given the rumored increase in thickness for all iPhone 15 variants, I’ve always suspected that. An increase in battery capacity would still lead to better battery life, even if the batteries do not use stacked construction.
