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Battery Capacity of 7,000–8,000 mAh Is Becoming Mainstream as 10,000+ mAh Models Enter the Market

At the start of 2026, the smartphone industry has significantly accelerated its push toward “ultra-large batteries”: on January 5, Honor Power 2 debuted with a 10,080 mAh Qinghai Lake battery; on December 26, 2025, the WIN series gaming smartphones—also equipped with 10,000+ mAh batteries—were launched; meanwhile, OnePlus has announced that its new Turbo 6 and Turbo 6V models, set to launch in January, will feature 9,000 mAh batteries. As mainstream brands successively introduce phones with 10,000+ mAh batteries, high-capacity batteries are becoming increasingly widespread.

Over the past two years, the battery capacity structure of Android smartphones in China has been undergoing a clear “stepwise upgrade.” According to Sandalwood China’s e-commerce data, the mainstream market capacity range has completed two critical inflection-point transitions in a short period:

Starting in the second half of 2024, the first capacity upgrade inflection point emerged—the 6,000–7,000 mAh segment grew rapidly: its share rose from 8% in Q2 2024 to 29% in Q4 2024, and further became the dominant capacity tier in the first half of 2025 (reaching 46% in Q2 2025). The core of this first inflection point was that “6,000 mAh batteries could finally be scaled within mainstream form factors.” Mature silicon-carbon/high-density cells and advanced structural stacking enabled capacity increases without necessitating bulky designs; meanwhile, heavy-use scenarios such as short videos, live streaming, and gaming raised the experience threshold to “stable all-day usage,” and the perceptible battery life improvement offered by 6,000–7,000 mAh created a compelling reason for consumers to upgrade.

More notably, the market experienced a second upgrade inflection point in the second half of 2025: the 7,000–8,000 mAh segment entered a phase of explosive growth, with its share rising from 11% in Q2 2025 to 35% in Q4 2025. Driven by this trend, the combined share of devices with 7,000 mAh or higher reached 44% in Q4 2025. This signifies that large batteries are transitioning from a “differentiating configuration” to the “mainstream standard for battery life.” The second inflection point occurred because, once 6,000–7,000 mAh batteries were proven feasible for mass production, the supply chain naturally pushed toward higher ceilings, making yields and costs for 7,000–8,000 mAh batteries increasingly controllable; at the same time, user expectations shifted from “sufficient” to “confidently sufficient,” turning large batteries from an experience upgrade into a more universal foundation of reassurance and productivity. From manufacturers’ perspective, promoting 7,000+ mAh batteries is not merely about competing on specifications, but about supporting sustained high-power experiences such as AI, computational imaging, long-form video, and all-day connectivity—larger batteries not only last longer but also empower brands to “unlock” richer user experiences without power constraints.

The recent emergence of 10,000+ mAh “upper-limit models” primarily serves to validate both industrial capability and market expectations: they address the essential needs of users requiring extended online time, while simultaneously raising consumer psychological baselines through “ceiling events,” thereby accelerating the adoption of 7,000–8,000 mAh batteries.

7,000+ mAh Batteries Are Becoming Mainstream in the ¥1K–3K Segment, While Penetration Is Accelerating in the ¥3K–8K Mid-to-High-End Tier

When broken down by price segment, the initial growth of 7,000+ mAh batteries was primarily driven by the ¥1,000–3,000 range, where their share has already reached 50%, indicating that large-capacity batteries in this price bracket have transitioned from rapid growth to mass-market adoption. In contrast, the sharp increase in share within the ¥3,000–8,000 segment (rising to 30%) signals that this mid-to-high-end tier is now entering a phase of accelerated penetration.

From a brand perspective, in 2025, the main brands offering 7,000+ mAh batteries in the ¥1,000–2,000 segment were Xiaomi, iQOO, and OPPO; in the ¥2,000–3,000 segment, the leading players included Xiaomi, Honor, iQOO, and realme.

Brand dynamics vary slightly across sub-segments within the ¥3,000–8,000 range: in the ¥3,000–4,000 segment, Honor and Xiaomi lead the market; in the ¥4,000–6,000 segment, a three-way rivalry has emerged among Xiaomi, iQOO, and Honor; and in the ¥6,000–8,000 segment, brand concentration is even higher, currently dominated by Xiaomi, with Red Magic carving out a niche through its gaming-focused differentiation.

Product Portfolio of Large-Battery Models: Flagship Experience, Practical Endurance, and Performance-Oriented Gaming

From a product distribution perspective, distinct positioning tiers have emerged across price segments. In the ¥1,000–3,000 range, adoption has been primarily driven by “performance-gaming” models—typical examples include the REDMI Turbo 4 Pro / K80 Ultra and iQOO Z10 Turbo / Turbo Pro—followed closely by “practical endurance” models such as the REDMI Note 15 Pro, OPPO K12s, and HONOR 400.

In the ¥3,000–4,000 segment, a “dual-camp coexistence” pattern has taken shape: flagship-experience models like the HONOR 400 Pro and OnePlus 15 are moving upmarket, while performance-oriented lines—including the HONOR GT Pro, REDMI K90 / K90 Pro Max, and OnePlus Ace 6—still command significant market share.

Starting from the ¥4,000–6,000 tier, large batteries increasingly serve as the foundational element of flagship experiences. Representative models include the MI 17 / 17 Pro Max, OPPO Find X9 / Pro, and HONOR Magic 8, with performance-focused variants such as the iQOO 15 and RedMagic 10 Pro Plus providing complementary options.

By the time we reach the ¥6,000–8,000 segment, the market structure becomes highly polarized: the MI 17 Pro Max dominates as the flagship leader, while gaming-centric devices are concentrated in the RedMagic 10 / 11 / 10S Pro Plus series.

 Moreover, it is worth noting that the ¥3,000–8,000 price range saw a clear surge in new model launches in Q4 2025, further confirming that manufacturers’ current large-battery product strategies are increasingly shifting toward the mid-to-high-end segment.

Overall, in the short term, 7,000–8,000 mAh batteries will serve as the core engine driving market growth; and as the share of 8,000+ mAh models continues to rise within the product mix—and with an increasing number of 10,000+ mAh battery devices being introduced—10,000+ mAh batteries are poised to become the next focal point of competition in the coming phase.