In the past, a slim phone often came with a smaller battery in the iPhone 17 Air. A beautifully designed device that loses power halfway through the day is of little use. The silicon-carbon technology addresses this long-standing issue of balancing aesthetics with battery life. This isn’t a new idea; it has been in development for decades. The technology was subtly introduced into consumer electronics in 2021, starting with the Whoop fitness monitors. Chinese smartphone manufacturers like Honor and Xiaomi have utilized it in their products, and OnePlus incorporated it into its OnePlus 13 model. The latest phone from Nothing, the OnePlus 3, also uses this innovation. Now, all eyes are on Apple.
Rumors suggest that the iPhone 17 Air will be revealed this week, boasting a thickness of only 5.5 mm, making it the thinnest iPhone to date. The use of silicon-carbon battery technology is believed to facilitate this reduction in thickness without sacrificing performance. Currently, the average battery thickness for Apple devices ranges from 8 to 9 millimeters. For comparison, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra measures 8.2 mm, the iPhone 16 Pro Max is 8.25 mm, and the Google Pixel 10 Pro XL is 8.5 mm thick. Earlier this year, Samsung introduced the Apple iPhone 17 features with a thickness of 5.8 mm. When unfolded, the Galaxy Z Fold7 is just 4.2 mm thick.
Huawei has taken it a step further with the Mate XT Ultimate, a trifolding device that measures only 3.6 mm when opened. Tecno has also joined the competition, showcasing concepts at MWC 2020 and later launching a 5.93 mm phone. The industry has long pursued thinner devices; in the early 2010s, manufacturers competed to shave off every millimeter. Apple famously introduced the iPhone 5 in September 2012, branding it as the ‘thinnest phone ever made’ at 7.6 mm, which was then the slimmest iPhone in the world. Oppo’s 2014 R5 was even thinner at 4.85 mm.
