How the Note 7 disaster got Samsung to rethink the battery for the Galaxy S8
After Samsung figured out what went wrong with the Galaxy Note 7, it set to get in front of any battery problems for future phones. The main result was the highly publicized eight-point battery check, which incorporates new and existing tests for battery flaws.
What hasn't been revealed until now is that Samsung altered the battery design of its next flagship, the Galaxy S8, in the wake of the Note 7.
On the spec sheet, Samsung rates the S8 at 3,000 milliamp-hours (mAh), the same as its direct predecessor, the Galaxy S7. But Samsung employees told me during interviews at the company's headquarters in South Korea that the capacity is actually slightly less because of the battery redesign.
However, the practical battery life of the phone is still longer, Samsung says, because improved internal components and software manage the energy more efficiently. And there's an arguably better benefit: The life cycle of the battery is lengthened, meaning it shouldn't lose as much of a charge the longer you own the phone.
"The battery life is extended longer than that of the S7 thanks to adding energy-management software and incorporating energy-efficient component[s]," according to Samsung Vice President of R&D for Mobile Bookeun Oh, who oversees battery development. "Furthermore, we focused on maintaining the durability of the battery over the long term, over hundreds of charging cycles. While most batteries hold about 80 percent of their charge after two years in usual cases, this battery should be capable of 95 percent of its original capacity.”
So what exactly did Samsung change in the S8's battery tech? The company didn't give further details. Consumers, of course, will never know the difference either way—and that's really the point.
Topics Samsung
Pete Pachal was Mashable’s Tech Editor and had been at the company from 2011 to 2019. He covered the technology industry, from self-driving cars to self-destructing smartphones.Pete has covered consumer technology in print and online for more than a decade. Originally from Edmonton, Canada, Pete first uploaded himself into technology journalism at Sound & Vision magazine in 1999. Pete also served as Technology Editor at Syfy, creating the channel's technology site, DVICE (now Blastr), out of some rusty HTML code and a decompiled coat hanger. He then moved on to PCMag, where he served as the site's News Director.Pete has been featured on Fox News, the Today Show, Bloomberg, CNN, CNBC and CBC.Pete holds degrees in journalism from the University of King's College in Halifax and engineering from the University of Alberta in Edmonton. His favorite Doctor Who monsters are the Cybermen.
