OPPO, OnePlus tipped to bring 10,000mAh batteries to their mid-range smartphones
The race for bigger smartphone batteries isn’t slowing down anytime soon. After OnePlus introduced its largest-ever battery on the Nord 6 and OPPO followed with 7,000mAh cells in the mid-range, a new leak suggests both brands are already preparing phones with even bigger batteries.
According to a leak in China, OPPO and OnePlus are working on smartphones with 10,000mAh or larger batteries. While neither company has confirmed these plans, the leak comes at a time when brands are racing to come up with the biggest battery phone as they cut down on other hardware due to rising memory costs.
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Upcoming and leaked 10,000mAh smartphones
Chinese tipster Digital Chat Station claims OPPO is developing a new smartphone for its mid-range with a 10,000mAh single-cell battery. OnePlus, meanwhile, is said to be working on a new mid-range model that could launch next year with a battery exceeding 10,000mAh. DCS says that phone could come with the SM8845 Pro chip, which is expected to be the unannounced Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 6 or Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 Pro. This makes us believe it could be the successor to the OnePlus 15R or maybe even an upgraded Nord phone. As always, these details are based on early information, so it’s best to treat them as rumours until OPPO or OnePlus make an official announcement.
If the leak turns out to be accurate, both phones would set new battery records for their respective brands. OPPO’s current champion is the Find X9 Pro, which packs a 7,500mAh battery. OnePlus holds its own record with the Nord 6 (Indian model), which launched earlier this year with a 9,000mAh battery and the same 80W charging support.
Confirmed and recently launched 10,000mAh phones
While Oppo and OnePlus are still reportedly working towards the milestone, a few brands have already crossed it. Honor became the first mainstream smartphone maker to launch phones with 10,000mAh batteries in late 2025 with the Honor WIN series. Realme soon followed by bringing the technology to India with the P4 Power and Narzo Power, both equipped with 10,001mAh batteries.
Several more brands are expected to join the club. Leaks suggest iQOO is testing batteries ranging from 8,500mAh to 10,000mAh for the upcoming iQOO 16, Neo 12 and Z12 Turbo. Xiaomi is also rumoured to be equipping the Redmi Turbo 6 series with a 10,000mAh battery, while Honor and Vivo are reportedly pushing things even further with phones that could feature a 12,000mAh cell.
There’s a plausible explanation for this. Smartphone brands are facing higher memory prices, which have made it more expensive to build devices. To keep prices competitive, many manufacturers have started trimming costs in other areas by using less powerful chipsets, reducing the number of rear cameras or bringing LCD displays back to some segments.
Battery technology, however, is moving in the opposite direction. Silicon-carbon batteries can store much more power without making phones dramatically thicker, and the technology is gradually becoming cheaper to produce. That has made larger batteries one of the few hardware upgrades that brands can continue to offer across price segments.
This trend is worth watching, but battery capacity shouldn’t be the only deciding factor. A 10,000mAh battery can significantly reduce charging frequency, especially for heavy users, travellers and gamers, but factors such as the processor’s efficiency, software optimisation, charging speeds and overall weight will still shape the day-to-day experience. If you already own a phone with good battery life, there’s little reason to upgrade for capacity alone. However, if you’re planning to buy a new mid-range smartphone over the next year and battery backup is high on your priority list, the upcoming wave of 10,000mAh devices could offer a more compelling upgrade than previous generations.
