Why government red tape is draining your phone’s battery potential

You’re not alone if you’re pining for longer battery life from your latest smartphone. Despite emerging technologies like silicon-carbon cells, we’ve seemingly hit a ceiling just above the 5,000 mAh mark — at least for phones sold in the US and Europe. Meanwhile, glance over at models in China or India, and you’ll spot far larger batteries in otherwise identical handsets.

For example, the new Nothing Phone 3 packs a 5,150mAh battery globally, but bumps that up to 5,500mAh in India. The HONOR Magic 7 Pro goes from 5,270mAh in Europe to 5,850mAh in China, and the Xiaomi 15 Ultra stretches from 5,410mAh globally to a massive 6,000mAh in its domestic market. So what gives? Why can’t we have these same huge battery capacities on the other side of the world too?