Große Batterien, langlebigere Leistung. Die Mainstream-Modelle drängen derzeit auf den Markt der Allwetter-Handys.

Friends who often follow our San Yi Life may still remember that in the past, we brought you a lot of content related to "hardcore rugged phones", which are often niche and mostly only available overseas. At that time, we often thought that although the benchmark scores of these models might not be very high, they indeed looked "sturdy and durable". Moreover, their large battery capacities could solve the battery life anxiety problem that many users have with mainstream smartphones.

However, recently, our thinking has changed. For example, when we saw the newly exposed "Oukitel WP210" recently, not only did we find its back design, which resembles the Meizu Note 16, a bit funny. More importantly, when we found that this "hardcore rugged phone" with a thickness of 13.7mm and a body weight of 311g only has an internal battery capacity of 8800mAh, our first reaction was "how backward the battery technology is".

Obviously, the reason for our change in thinking is that in the past two years, mainstream models have made rapid progress in the key technology of "high-energy-density batteries".

For example, the energy density of traditional solid-state lithium batteries is about 300 - 500Wh/L. However, the "silicon-oxygen anode" batteries that first appeared in the mobile phone industry around 2022 could already achieve an energy density of over 700Wh/L. In this year's new models, some manufacturers have even achieved an energy density of 901Wh/L for ultra-thin mobile phone batteries.

What does this mean? Simply put, among this year's mainstream models, the most aggressive products in terms of battery technology can reduce the battery volume to half or even one-third of that of "non-mainstream brands", while maintaining the same battery capacity. In terms of products, the battery capacity of flagship phones from first-tier brands has generally reached 6000mAh.

Not to mention those mainstream models that specifically focus on "long battery life". They are even starting to aim for 8000mAh or even 10000mAh, while keeping the body thickness and weight unchanged. Judging from this trend, in just one year at the earliest, mainstream brands' products may be able to achieve a battery capacity in a body thickness of about 8mm that can only be achieved by niche brand rugged phones with a body thickness of about 15mm.

This huge gap in battery technology could obviously seriously weaken the market competitiveness of niche brand rugged phones.

Some friends may say, "I know that first-tier brands have made great progress in battery technology recently. Isn't it just that they spend a lot of money to get customized or first-release products from the supply chain? Second- and third-tier brands will catch up one day. Besides, although the batteries of ordinary phones are now larger, can their drop resistance and waterproof performance really compete with those of thick and heavy professional rugged phones?"

Well, this is indeed a question worth discussing.

First, let's take a look at the batteries. In the current context where first-tier manufacturers are fiercely competing in battery technology, do second- and third-tier brands still have a chance to catch up? In the short term, it's almost impossible, but in the long term, the probability is not completely zero. Because the battery capacity or the energy density of mobile phone batteries cannot increase infinitely; there will always be a bottleneck.

Maybe by that time, first-tier mobile phone manufacturers will develop new directions for battery technology progress, such as faster fast charging or longer battery life. However, the problem is that consumers are far less sensitive to "ultra-fast charging" and "ultra-long battery life" than to directly increasing the battery capacity. Therefore, in a few years, second- and third-tier brands may gradually be able to use high-capacity batteries with ultra-high density, and they won't be "beaten across technological generations" by leading manufacturers like they are now.

However, compared with the battery technology problem that may be solved by "waiting", the waterproof and drop-resistant properties of smartphones may become one of the advantages that second- and third-tier brands will never regain.

The reason is actually very simple. Consumers' demand for mobile phone battery capacity is almost endless. Everyone always wants longer battery life and faster charging speed. However, the situation is different for the "durability" of mobile phones because this demand has a clear upper limit. Most consumers don't need a phone that can withstand a fall from tens of thousands of meters or has waterproof performance that can withstand high-pressure water guns. Their requirements are actually very realistic. As long as the phone can withstand daily drops, squeezes, common rain, or water immersion scenarios that may be encountered in daily life, it's enough.

In the past, second- and third-tier brands used to solve these problems by wrapping the phone body with thick rubber or using screw-fixed sealed interfaces. However, mainstream brands do it differently. They rely on more precise internal structures, more advanced new materials, and accurate force simulation designs.

As a result, we can now see that many first-tier brands have also launched phones that are extremely drop-resistant and highly waterproof. Moreover, these phones are not thick and heavy, and there are almost no special "rugged" elements in their appearance.

Most importantly, these lightweight and thin "first-tier brand rugged phones" can meet the daily durability needs of most users, have a large enough battery capacity, and even have better system optimization. Moreover, their prices are probably much lower than those of second- and third-tier brand "hardcore rugged phones".

Some friends may be indignant about this. They may think that it's not a good look for first-tier brands to "grab" the niche market of second- and third-tier brands. However, on the one hand, mainstream brands rely on real technological advantages rather than marketing tactics (they may not even bother to do competitive marketing against niche brands). On the other hand, in the current situation where everyone knows that the mobile phone market competition is becoming increasingly fierce, instead of engaging in a "war of attrition" among themselves, it's easier for leading brands to expand their market share by targeting the market originally occupied by niche brands.

[Some pictures in this article are from the Internet] 

This article is from the WeChat official account "San Yi Life" (ID: IT-3eLife). The author is San Yi Jun. It is published by 36Kr with authorization.