Smartphone battery life is a big problem, especially as modern mobiles can be important for managing so many areas of modern life. But now, Energizer has unveiled a new solution which overcomes many of the current obstacles in this area.
Big promises
At the moment, the high-end handsets that are available on the market are hampered by their batteries. The Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus is equipped with a 3500mAh cell, while its rival the iPhone X has an even smaller 2716mAh capacity on offer. Over the course of a day of moderate to heavy usage, it is easy for owners to get dangerously close to running out of juice. Nightly recharges are nigh on essential. And unless you have cheap phone insurance, these batteries can be costly to replace if they ever fail. Luckily, a mobile phone insurance package will have you covered, even if the manufacturer’s warranty has expired. The Power Max P16K is Energizer’s take on mobile design, managing to cram a 16,000mAh battery into a relatively slim chassis. In theory, it should be able to last for days at a time without needing to be recharged, thanks to this feature. Company spokesperson, Julien Emard, was relatively conservative in his estimations about how long the device would survive on a single charge, claiming that around two or three days is realistic, according to Tech Radar. But on paper, the phone has around five times the battery capacity of its rivals, which suggests a much longer lifespan.
Size constraints
One downside of adding a bigger battery is that the phone itself has to become both larger and heavier as a result. The prototype model of the Power Max P16K, which was showcased last month, measured 1.5 centimetres thick and tipped the scales at 350 grams. The final production version should be slightly slimmer and less hefty, but not by much. So for people who value the look and feel of their smartphone above battery life, it might not be the most attractive device on the market. Its added heft could also make it easier to damage when dropped from a height. With an anticipated price tag of over £500, protecting it with a multi gadget insurance plan will be a good idea for any early adopters.
Performance potential
In terms of its other hardware specifications, the Power Max P16K is fairly well equipped. It has a healthy 6GB of RAM, along with the solid but not necessarily market-leading Mediatek Helio P23 chipset. It also has a solid 128GB of storage space included as standard, with a microSD card slot providing room for even more expansion. A dual camera setup on the rear should make it an impressive photographic tool, and with all that battery life, it could be a great option for people who want to head out on a camping trip and capture images and videos of their time away, without lugging around a separate power pack or car adaptor. This smartphone from Energizer is certainly something of a niche product, but it is likely to find its audience and definitely represents value for money, even if its looks have suffered to achieve the manufacturer’s design goals.