There’s just one smartphone battery spec that issues, and it is the one no person checks

Battery life is among the high issues for consumers contemplating a brand new smartphone, and there is no scarcity of specs that inform you how a cellphone’s battery will carry out. The capability of a cellphone battery is measured in milliampere-hours (mAh), and a cellphone’s charging pace is described in watts (W). You may additionally see producers quantify their telephones’ runtime by their most hours of video playback on a single cost. But none of those specs preview how your cellphone’s battery will carry out months and years down the highway.

Instead, a very powerful battery spec is its rated cycle rely. Smartphone producers publish a rated battery cycle rely, which units clear expectations as to what number of instances your cellphone’s battery could be utterly discharged and recharged earlier than it drops under 80% usable capability. In different phrases, it is a preview of how your cellphone will deal with battery degradation over time. You haven’t got to attend for points to pop up years after your cellphone’s guarantee has lapsed to get a sneak peek at the way it’ll age.

The European Union’s energy label database consists of rated cost cycle counts for each smartphone bought within the area, and I combed by way of it to seek out the numbers for every flagship cellphone.

Samsung Galaxy telephones have a protracted lifespan

Some flagships have batteries rated to last more than the competitors’s

A yr in the past, I might’ve written that Samsung Galaxy telephones supply the best rated cycle counts of any flagship model within the U.S. The whole Samsung Galaxy S25 collection is rated for two,000 cycles. In easy phrases, Samsung claims that the Galaxy S25, Galaxy S25 Plus, Galaxy S25 Ultra, Galaxy S25 Edge, and Galaxy S25 FE ought to supply 2,000 full cost cycles earlier than falling to 80% of its authentic capability.

A cost cycle is a whole discharge from 100% to 0%, and a subsequent recharge from 0% to 100%. Your cellphone’s cost cycle rely is the variety of instances it has been utterly charged and discharged. A cost cycle would not should occur — if you happen to use half your cellphone’s battery someday and the opposite half the following day, and recharge it, that constitutes one cycle.

Surprisingly, the new Galaxy S26 series introduced a battery downgrade with it. Samsung charges the Galaxy S26, Galaxy S26 Plus, Galaxy S26 Ultra, and Galaxy S26 FE for 1,200 cost cycles. That’s nonetheless larger than another flagship telephones, nevertheless it’s 800 cycles lower than the Galaxy S25 collection that got here earlier than it.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8, Galaxy Z Flip 8, and Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra are all rated for 1,200 battery cycles as nicely. This is notable, as a result of Samsung’s 2026 trio of folding telephones are the corporate’s first to make use of silicon-carbon batteries. The regulatory filings counsel that you will get the identical anticipated lifespan from Samsung cellphone batteries no matter whether or not they use conventional lithium-ion or silicon-carbon batteries. The new telephones nonetheless have a shorter anticipated lifespan than the outdated ones, although.

Motorola, Nothing, and OnePlus telephones impress

Despite their small US presence, these manufacturers’ batteries are long-lasting

Motorola’s latest flagships are rated for a similar 1,200 cost cycles as Samsung’s newest telephones. Specifically, the majority of the Motorola Edge 70 collection is anticipated to retain 80% capability by way of 1,200 cycles, and the identical goes for the Razr Fold and Razr Ultra 2026. There are some exceptions, just like the Motorola Edge 70 Fusion, which is a midrange system rated for 1,000 cost cycles. Motorola’s funds and midrange telephones are usually rated for fewer cost cycles than the model’s flagships.

OnePlus says its flagship OnePlus 15 is rated for 1,400 battery cycles, which is an uptick in comparison with the OnePlus 13 that got here earlier than it. The OnePlus 13 was merely rated for 1,000 battery cycles, and the OnePlus 13R cut up the center at 1,200 battery cycles. It’s additionally price noting that OnePlus telephones use high-capacity silicon-carbon batteries, and nonetheless declare a protracted usable lifespan.

Nothing’s newest telephones, from the funds CMF Phone 2 Pro to the flagship Phone 3, are all rated for 1,400 cost cycles. Moreover, Nothing says that its telephones can preserve as much as 90% capability after 1,200 charging cycles — a lofty declare, if Nothing telephones can again it up over time.

iPhone and Google Pixel telephones are tied

But there is a catch — Google’s going to throttle your Pixel battery

Google Pixel telephones have had their justifiable share of battery points over the yr, together with necessary “battery efficiency applications” for the Google Pixel 4a and Pixel 6a. On paper, the Google Pixel 8a and later telephones ought to preserve 80% of their authentic capability for about 1,000 cost cycles. Earlier fashions, particularly the Pixel 3 by way of Pixel 8 Pro and the unique Pixel Fold, are solely rated for 800 cost cycles.

However, there is a catch. Beginning at 200 cost cycles, a compulsory Battery Health Assistance characteristic will begin throttling battery and charging efficiency on Pixel 9a and newer telephones. The end result? Shorter battery life and slower charging speeds, after new Pixels cross the 200-cycle threshold. These telephones are nonetheless rated for 1,000 cost cycles, however Google is utilizing software program battery administration options to hit that ranking.

For iPhones, the scenario varies considerably relying on which mannequin we’re speaking about. The iPhone 14 collection and older telephones are rated to retain 80% of their authentic capability for 500 cost cycles. This is a low determine, particularly in comparison with the opposite flagships we have coated. The excellent news is that the iPhone 15 collection and newer telephones are rated for 1,000 cost cycles, placing iPhones on par with Pixels and simply behind most different Android fashions.

What occurs when your cellphone runs out of cycles?

Don’t recycle your cellphone or improve, get a brand new battery

You now in all probability know your cellphone’s anticipated battery lifespan. If you will have a cellphone I have not coated, you may conduct a public search of the European Union’s energy label database for your self. But what do you have to do with this data, and what occurs when your cellphone runs out of cost cycles?

It’s estimated that mild smartphone customers tally up 150 to 200 cost cycles yearly, whereas heavier customers can attain 400 cycles and past per yr. You can use serviette math to find out what number of years you anticipate to maintain your cellphone, and estimate how lengthy a cellphone will final. Battery capability components into the equation, too, as a result of telephones with small batteries will should be recharged extra typically. And thus, they’re going to rack up cost cycles extra rapidly.

For instance, Galaxy and Pixel telephones promise seven years of software program help. If you employ 200 cycles per yr, you may attain the top of your battery’s anticipated lifespan earlier than your system runs out of software program upgrades. Meanwhile, if you happen to purchase a OnePlus or Nothing cellphone with a rated cycle rely of 1,400, you may get a tool that truly stands an opportunity of lasting seven years on its authentic battery. This is how a cellphone’s claimed cycle rely can issue into your shopping for determination.

Luckily, when your cellphone’s battery degrades, you do not have to recycle or change it totally. Simply change the battery as a substitute. It’s a comparatively low cost restore obtainable for each mainstream cellphone, and it will make your outdated system really feel like new.