There’s no question that one of the best iPhone 16 features is battery life. Apple Intelligence is in its early days, Visual Intelligence hasn’t launched yet, and the Camera Control button has been very divisive. But you’ll notice the battery life improvements every day, and it’s all thanks to Apple’s work on the A18 chips that power the iPhone 16 series.
That said, Android users should be prepared for similarly exciting battery life from next-generation Android flagships that use the Snapdragon 8 Elite. The first battery life tests show Qualcomm’s new chip is a top performer, and that’s great news ahead of the Galaxy S25 series’ arrival.
Rumors say that the three Galaxy S25 models coming at Samsung’s January Unpacked event will all rock the Snapdragon 8 Elite chip. That’s the base Galaxy S25, the S25 Plus, and the S25 Ultra. If there really is a fourth model coming in the form of a new Galaxy S25 Slim model, it may also use the same Elite chip.
Just a few days ago, I told you I’m ready to accept the obvious compromises Apple might make with the iPhone 17 Air next year. I have no problem buying a phone with a single camera on the back and recharging it every night if need be. At the time, I assumed that the camera and battery life were two obvious compromises. The same would apply to any ultra-thin phone that rivals the iPhone 17 Air. They’d all need to make compromises to achieve ultra-thin designs.
However, something else happened that made me realize battery life doesn’t necessarily have to suffer too badly. The first phones rocking Snapdragon 8 Elite chips feature much better battery life than expected, and increased battery sizes can only be responsible for part of that.
YouTuber Dave2D tested the Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro and the OnePlus 13, two phones with the new Qualcomm flagship chip. They also sport massive batteries: 5,800 mAh and 6,000 mAh, respectively.
Both battery packs are larger than their predecessors. We’re looking at 5.4% gains for the Rog Phone 9. But a PCMark battery test for the handset shows that battery life has jumped by 30%, from 11 hours to almost 14.5 hours.
The OnePlus 13 has an 11% larger battery than the OnePlus 12. However, in the same benchmark, the new phone lasted 17.5 hours, up 42% from 12.2 hours from its predecessor.
As 9to5Google points out, the larger battery packs alone can’t explain the battery life gains above. The Snapdragon 8 Elite must be responsible for those massive gains.
This is where I remind you how amazing the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s battery life is. The phone beat the iPhone 16 Pro Max in some real-life tests and lost in others. The point is that the S24 Ultra delivers great battery life.
With that in mind, I would expect the Galaxy S25 Ultra to be an even more formidable phone when it comes to efficiency. All Samsung has to do is bump the battery size a little and let the Snapdragon 8 Elite do the work.
Similarly, the Galaxy S25 Plus and the regular Galaxy S25 should deliver great battery life. They’ll also rock the Snapdragon 8 Elite chip. Qualcomm did say the new chip will provide power savings of about 27%.
Getting back to the Galaxy S25 Slim, I’d expect Samsung to make the most of the Snapdragon 8 Elite chip here. The ultra-thin phone doesn’t have to last two days like the Galaxy S25 Ultra probably will. But it just might become an ultra-thin phone with all-day battery life. Assuming Samsung makes it, of course. And assuming the benchmarks above reflect real-life battery life for Snapdragon 8 Elite phones.
On the same note, if the Snapdragon 8 Elite is so efficient, I’d expect Apple’s A19 chip for the iPhone 17 Air to be even more efficient than the A18. In such a case, the iPhone 17 Air might not compromise battery life either. But we’ll cross that bridge well after the Galaxy S25 Slim drops.
