A tech expert explained which smartphone batteries don't drain in cold weather.

The drawbacks of lithium-ion (Li-Ion) batteries found in modern smartphones become evident with a significant decrease in operating time when temperatures drop below zero degrees Celsius. The capacity of such batteries can plummet by up to 50%, causing serious inconvenience for users. In contrast, the new silicon-carbon batteries exhibit stable performance in cold conditions and maintain 2-2.5 times higher capacity. This was stated by the editor-in-chief of an electronics magazine, Evgeny Kharitonov, in an interview “Gazeta.Ru”.

The expert explained that with prolonged exposure to temperatures of -20 degrees Celsius, the reduction in capacity of lithium-ion batteries becomes the norm, but in warmer conditions, they operate reliably without sharp declines during charging and discharging.

“Rather than trying to mitigate the downsides of lithium-ion batteries, smartphone manufacturers have begun transitioning to silicon-carbon batteries. Thanks to the higher specific capacity of silicon, these batteries allow for greater capacity within the same dimensions. Additionally, these batteries generate less heat during charging—thus, the charging speed of smartphones continues to increase and has already surpassed that of many laptops in terms of wattage,” said Kharitonov.

Among the main advantages of silicon-carbon batteries are their slow aging and stable performance at low temperatures, as they can retain 2-2.5 times more capacity at low voltage. Currently, these batteries are primarily used in flagship Chinese smartphones priced from 50,000 rubles.

“Thanks to this new type of battery, Chinese flagship smartphones have dramatically increased battery capacity while maintaining ultra-fast charging even in models with water resistance—older Li-Ion batteries required good ventilation to avoid ‘blowing up’ during high-power charging, which is why for a long time, Chinese flagship smartphones were not equipped with IP67 or IP68 water resistance,” emphasized the expert.

Kharitonov also added that lithium-ion batteries do not have a memory effect and can be charged and discharged as needed. They wear out differently, as for Li-Ion, what matters is not the frequency of charges but adhering to a certain number of cycles—charging to 100% can be done either in one go or in stages.

“Smartphones are designed in such a way that they do not require ‘less wattage stretched over more hours’—they need exactly the right voltage ‘here and now’ that the processor, memory, display, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and 4G modem consume. As a result, if the battery is unable to deliver the required wattage, the smartphone will shut down unexpectedly in cold weather to prevent damage to its circuitry from voltage fluctuations,” the specialist concluded.