Samsung plans to use battery technology used in electric cars to create energy-dense batteries for smartphones, in a move that will improve the battery life of future phones, according to reports from The Elec.
Samsung SDI, Samsung's Battery & Power division, plans to use technology it currently uses to make batteries for fifth-generation electric vehicles (EVs) to make batteries for tablets and smartphones, according to sources who spoke to The Elec. Instead of the now-familiar method of manufacturing the “wound jelly roll” or jelly roll design, which is often used in most rechargeable batteries, the disadvantage of which is that the battery is not packed tightly and this leads to the battery swelling due to the frequent charging and discharging process,
The EV method of stacking battery materials solves this problem and helps increase energy density by more than 10% in the same capacity and size without taking up any additional internal space.
The company is said to be adjusting production lines in South Korea to be able to manufacture the new batteries, and has already built a pilot stacking method line in China. Elec suggests that Samsung may seek to win orders from Apple for the new type of battery. Samsung SDI has supplied batteries for MacBooks and iPads in the past, but has never made batteries for iPhones. Currently, Apple's main battery supplier is Amperex Technology in China, while LG Energy Solution has also supplied some cells in the past.
Apple currently uses an L-shaped multi-cell battery in the iPhone, where multiple batteries are connected to make the most of the internal space and extend battery life. The higher energy density batteries could allow Apple to move away from the multi-cell design, save internal space, and make the iPhone lighter without sacrificing battery life, or keep the same design and moderately increase battery life.
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