Mobile phone maker Honor has unveiled the world's first battery made of silicon and carbon, giving upcoming handsets a clear capacity advantage over those using currently available battery technology.

In an on-stage presentation at MWC 2023 (opens in new tab), Honor CEO George Zhao claimed that the battery has a 12.8% higher energy density than regular graphite batteries. This means either the same capacity as a typical battery in a smaller space, or a larger capacity in the same space, depending on how one wishes to utilize the new technology.

Zhao provided background on the announcement by stating that if the newly released Honor Magic5 Pro used this technology, the 5,100 mAh battery would have a capacity of 5,450 mAh.

Honor noted the "low-voltage aggregation technology" that makes this capacity increase possible: the capacity at 3.5V is 240% higher than normal batteries in silicon carbon batteries, which means that the battery drains faster as the smartphone has less charge left and keeps drawing the same current Zhao claimed that this can be useful in those awkward moments when the battery is running low on charge and needs to be drained faster to keep drawing the same amount of current.

Zhao concluded by saying that he believes this technology will be available "very soon. That is to say, he hopes it will only take a generation or two of Honor smartphones before we will be able to test this new battery technology. In fact, the future may already be here, as the version of the Magic5 Pro shipping in China lists the 5,450 mAh battery capacity (opens in new tab) that Zhao mentioned. We have to admit we are a little jealous that that version is not offered in a global model.

In our custom battery tests, our best phone battery life champions can all last at least 11 hours, and while we have not yet tested the Magic5 Pro, its larger than average battery is positive for its longevity should mean that it is positive. If a phone with a silicon carbon battery is launched in Europe or the U.S., it will definitely be on this list.