The highly anticipated Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra is rumored to retain its 5,000mAh battery, according to leaked specs. This suggests the 2026 Samsung flagship may delay adopting advanced silicon-carbon battery technology seen in rival phones. Photographer: Yuki Iawmura/Bloomberg

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As rival companies release phones with giant batteries using new silicon-carbon technology, a new leak suggests Samsung will stick with a familiar battery size for the upcoming Galaxy S26. But that doesn’t mean the Korean company won’t release a big-battery phone next year. Read on for more and check out my video on silicon carbon batteries below.

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Will Feature A Normal-Sized Battery

Reliable leaker Ice Universe posted the full leaked specifications of the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S26 earlier this week. These are by far the most comprehensive details we’ve seen of the Galaxy S26 range so far, and they reveal some interesting tidbits.

The most eye-catching is that the Galaxy S26 Ultra will sport a 5,000mAh battery, just like the Galaxy S25 Ultra. If accurate, that means Samsung’s next flagship phone likely won’t be powered by a denser silicon-carbon battery, and we won’t see a huge jump in battery life for the Korean company’s 2026 flagship.

It’s the same story with the Galaxy S26 Plus, which will feature the same 4,900mAh power pack as the Galaxy S25 Plus. However, the base Galaxy S26 will receive a small 300mAh increase in its battery, up to 4,300mAh.

No Silicon-Carbon Battery In The Galaxy S26? Maybe Not Yet

Korean publication The Financial News reported in February that Samsung was considering incorporating silicon batteries into its “next smartphone.” These leaks suggest otherwise.

Samsung also said in a June interview with Tom’s Guide that the company is “always looking at…emerging technology” in response to a question about silicon-carbon batteries.

But Samsung’s “next smartphone” doesn’t necessarily just mean the initial Galaxy S26 handsets that will be unveiled in January. There are the foldable devices in the summer, alongside the Galaxy S26 FE launch in fall, in addition to other mid-range releases throughout the year.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the May release spot reserved for the Galaxy S26 Edge, which could be cancelled due to poor sales, will be repurposed for a Galaxy S26 silicon-carbon battery-powered phone.

Launched on May 13th, the Galaxy S25 Edge used a new mounting system and camera redesign to make the phone slimmer, which we have seen redeployed in the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and likely the new Galaxy Tri-Fold. Before that, Samsung released a one-off Note Edge in 2014 (on a separate date to the then flagship Galaxy S5) using new curved-glass technology, which eventually made its way to the main Galaxy S line a year later.

Samsung’s habit of releasing one-off devices with new technology, separate from its regular phones, would be a perfect vehicle for a phone powered by a silicon-carbon-battery. The risk that comes with these batteries (swelling and shorter lifespan) won’t be etched into the Galaxy S26’s Wikipedia page while providing a useful testing ground for gauging consumer interest.

The latest Windows 11 optional update is KB5070311. It is the November 2025 update and it came a little late (Dec. 1). But now it’s here, it’s provided some headaches alongside the new improvements. Here’s all you need to know.

Windows 11

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Much of the content is about fixing bugs and other issues, such as a recent issue where notifications can cause crashes. Microsoft described the release in terms of its improvements. “This non-security update for Windows 11, version 25H2 and 24H2 (KB5070311), improves functionality, performance, and reliability,” it said in a support document.

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In the same document it also confirmed that there were known issues.” After installing KB5070311, you might experience issues when opening File Explorer in dark mode. The window might briefly display a blank white screen before loading files and folders,” it said.

But there are other “rough edges,” as Windows Latest described it. “This update can fail to install due to errors like 0x80070306. But if the update does apply, it will break dark mode in File Explorer and also cause problems with Intel Arc GPU drivers,” it said, echoing some of Microsoft’s own comments, but goes on to say that “it’s actually worse than what Microsoft says, as we have run into white flashes when switching to any page in File Explorer, including folders, if we are on the Home page.”

Of course, if you don’t use dark mode, this is not a major problem, but there are other concerns. For instance, if you use Windows Hello, the password icon can become invisible in certain circumstances, such as when you select the button to sign in with other options. It’s not that it’s not there, but it’s not visible (which is arguably more annoying).

“If you hover over the space where the icon should appear, you’ll see that the password button is still available. Select this placeholder to open the password text box and enter your password. After entering your password, you can sign in normally,” is Microsoft’s comment on the situation.

Before you worry about this, it’s not affecting everyone: “Individuals using Windows Home or Pro editions on personal devices are very unlikely to experience this issue. This issue primarily affects enterprise or managed IT environments,” Microsoft went on. Even so, it’s not ideal. More news as it emerges.

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Unlike the impressive base iPhone 17, Apple’s iPhone Air has faced some early struggles with limited demand from buyers. But a new report suggests that lack of interest has translated into a historically low resale value for the ultra slim phone.

Smartphone price comparison website, SellCell, has compiled resale data from the last 10 weeks since the new iPhone 17 range launched. One thing clearly stands out: the iPhone Air has experienced a historically bad drop in resale price compared to other iPhone models.

iPhone Air Price drop: Data Tells Early Story

SellCell’s data shows that within 10 weeks of launch, the iPhone Air lost an average of 44.3% of its original retail price. The most affected is the 1TB version, which has dropped 47.7%. This is the steepest loss of value recorded by SellCell for any iPhone model since 2022.

Here’s what that means in terms of actual trade-in price after 10 weeks:

• iPhone Air 256GB launch price: $999, value after 10 weeks: $596
• iPhone Air 512GB launch price: $1,199, value after 10 weeks: $660
• iPhone Air 1TB launch price: $1,399, value after 10 weeks: $731

iPhone 17 Pro Models Are Faring Better in Trade-in Value

The iPhone Air resale value has plummeted. SellCell’s trade-in data reveals the iPhone Air has suffered a record-breaking depreciation of up to 47.7% in the first 10 weeks post-launch, far below the stronger iPhone 17 Pro Max and setting a new low for resale value pricing. Photographer: Eric Thayer/Bloomberg

© 2025 Bloomberg Finance LP

The other iPhone 17 models are faring better than the iPhone Air, with the range retaining 9.7% more of their value than the slim phone after 10 weeks. The iPhone 17 Pro Max is the top performer across the new range, only losing 26.1% of its value in that time period.

Overall, the standard iPhone 17 range lost 34.6% of its value in 2.5 months, which is in line with the resale value trend of other Apple handsets between the iPhone 13 and iPhone 16, which stands at 35.4%. It might sound steep, but across the major smartphone manufacturers Apple phones still hold the most value. For example, Samsung’s Galaxy S25 lost 51.9% of its value in five months.

Important Caveats For Used iPhone Air Buyers

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This data is based on trade-in prices from over 40 US-based buyback companies, which pay cash for used and unwanted hardware. These companies offer instant cash to sellers (their main appeal) but will pay less than a private buyer on eBay or Swappa.

If you’re hoping to pick up a $550 $256GB iPhone Air on the secondary market, you might be disappointed. Although these trade-in trends can indicate where prices will go on used-phone marketplaces in the future.