The new iPhone Air battery reveals a revolutionary technical breakthrough that goes beyond its slim design.
While the slim design of Apple's new iPhone Air has drawn attention for its boldness and the meticulous engineering that has allowed for the miniaturization of the internal circuit boards, experts believe the real breakthrough lies elsewhere: the battery.
According to Gene Berdichevsky, co-founder and CEO of Sila, a battery materials company, the iPhone Air battery represents a quantum leap in the world of portable power. "The battery in the new iPhone is absolutely amazing," he told TechCrunch. "Its unconventional two-dimensional design is absolutely stunning. It's a revolution in battery technology."
Berdichevsky is no stranger to this field. He was Tesla's seventh employee and led the development of the battery for the first Roadster, which later became the prototype for the company's car batteries. Today, he leads his company's production of silicon anode materials for consumer electronics and, soon, electric vehicles.
Metal Battery Technology
The iPhone Air's breakthrough was made possible thanks to the Metal Can Battery, a patented technology for which Apple has filed. Unlike common batteries in electronic devices—which typically come in the form of "bag" cells with a flexible, inexpensive plastic cover—the metal can battery relies on a metal casing that surrounds the entire cell, giving it greater strength, rigidity, and durability.
Apple has previously used L-shaped batteries in some iPhones, but these designs were very sensitive to the natural swelling of lithium-ion batteries, especially at the corners. The new metal design makes the battery safer and allows it to be molded into almost any two-dimensional shape.
Maximizing Space
The most important advantage of this technology is that it gives Apple the ability to utilize all available internal space, even areas very close to the edges of the device, to provide more power without increasing its size. Berdichevsky confirms that this step will pave the way for the adoption of this technology in most future phones, despite its higher cost, because the gains in energy density and storage will be crucial.
Metal batteries are also expected to play a key role in smaller devices such as augmented and virtual reality glasses, where space is a critical factor.
Toward Silicon Anodes
Although Apple has not yet adopted silicon anodes known as silicon-carbon—which store up to 50% more energy than traditional graphite—the move to a metal battery design could pave the way for the adoption of these materials soon.
Berdyshevsky confirms that his company has already developed methods to manage the expansion caused by using silicon, but this factor had to be taken into account at the cell design level. He added, "This new technology will help us introduce silicon into such devices. It pushes the boundaries of performance and opens the door to a battery revolution."
While some celebrate the iPhone Air's thinness and elegant design, it appears that its battery holds the key to the biggest change, and may represent the beginning of a new generation of smart batteries that will transform mobile devices in the coming years.