Despite Chinese smartphones now offering massive batteries over 7,000mAh, popular models in the US and Europe, such as Samsung’s Galaxy S26 Ultra and the iPhone 16 Pro Max, still have smaller battery sizes around 5,000mAh. The main reason is not cost-cutting but outdated regulations.
In China, flagship phones like the Xiaomi 15 Ultra and Vivo X200 Pro are pushing battery capacities towards 7,000mAh by 2026. However, their global versions often have smaller batteries — around 5,200 to 5,400mAh — when sold in Europe and the US.
This is due to rules such as the US Federal Transportation Regulation 49 CFR 173.185, which limits lithium-ion battery cells to 20 watt-hours (roughly 5,000mAh) to avoid being classified as “Dangerous Goods” for shipping. Similar restrictions exist in the European Union, although details are less clear.
Chinese brands like Xiaomi and Vivo must comply with these regulations for phones shipped abroad, while companies like Samsung choose to keep batteries smaller to meet the rules. Some brands use dual-cell battery designs, such as the OnePlus 13 with a total of 6,000mAh split into two cells under 20Wh each, to increase capacity without breaching limits.
There are concerns about the safety of these large batteries in Chinese phones, but recent data does not show an increased risk compared to phones with smaller batteries. In fact, some battery incidents have involved Samsung phones with smaller, regulated batteries, suggesting the limits may be based more on outdated standards than actual safety risks.
Unless regulations evolve, the gap in battery sizes between Chinese and Western smartphones is likely to grow as Chinese brands continue increasing battery capacity.
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