Some huge design changes are coming to Galaxy S26 Ultra. We’ve heard rumors of a unified camera island that harkens back to the days of the Galaxy S21 Ultra. Moreover, a leaker reported softer, rounded corners on the S26 ultra, making it more ergonomic. Sadly, no improvements are expected when it comes to the battery.
It was being reported earlier that the Galaxy S26 Ultra will boost the cell capacity by 10%, which could potentially lead to a jump from 5000mAh to 5500mAh. Unfortunately, all those previous claims were shot down by a recent Chinese certification for the device.
The phone is now listed on China’s Quality Certification database, which revealed the exact battery size and energy rating. As documented on the CQC file, Galaxy S26 Ultra has the same old Li-ion cell rated at 4,855 mAh true capacity.
This is an 18.94Wh battery that maxes out at 4.5V. The 4855mAh figure might be advertised as a 5000mAh (typical) capacity. In other words, the latest Samsung Ultra mobile is stuck with the same cell size as the past five generations, which is disappointing to say the least.
The company will repeat the same song and dance of optimizing the phone’s power usage instead of working on the battery’s physical limitations. It’s hard to say how their 5000mAh Li-ion cell stays relevant when the Chinese brands move on to 7000mAh Si/C batteries in 2026.
Samsung refuses to touch the Si/C battery technology, even though it has been adopted by many other OEMs already. Even Nothing jumped on the bandwagon recently with its Phone (3). It’s clearly the technology of the future, yet the Korean phone maker remains skeptical.
There is a ray of hope at the end of the tunnel, as Samsung plans to upgrade the charging speed to 60W, moving on from the stale 45W standard for its flagships, as in the Galaxy S25 Ultra. But this is just speculation without proof. Hopefully, more certifications will shine a light on it in the future. Keep watching the news for updates.
