CheckMag | Small smartphone batteries in Europe could be bigger if manufacturers wanted

More and more smartphones in China launch with truly enormous batteries. Even compact devices like the iQOO 15 Mini offer 7,000mAh, while Realme and other brands are already working on relatively slim smartphones with 15,000mAh. However, many of these devices with large batteries never make it to the European market, and others, like the Xiaomi 15 Ultra, are shipped with a smaller battery.

Transportation regulation limits battery cells to 20Wh

The reason for this is the European Agreement concerning the "International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road", which mandates that battery cells with a capacity exceeding 20Wh must be declared as dangerous goods. This not only makes transportation more costly but also significantly more difficult, as only a few carriers accept packages with dangerous goods at all.

20Wh is equivalent to approximately 5,200mAh at the typical voltage of a smartphone battery. In theory, consumers have the option to import smartphones with larger batteries from countries like France or China, but Ingram pointed out that these devices are often not correctly labeled, meaning their transport is fundamentally unlawful. Furthermore, users should be aware that devices with batteries over 20Wh often cannot be sent in for repair or used for trade-in promotions, as companies frequently decline them due to the additional logistical effort.

Multi-cell batteries are a possible solution that manufacturers reject

The technically simplest solution to this problem is to install a battery that consists of multiple cells. As long as each individual cell holds less than 20Wh, it is possible to install significantly larger batteries. This is why laptops, gaming handhelds, and tablets can be shipped with larger batteries without issue.

But according to Vivo, this is not a solution, as multi-cell batteries require more space and would make smartphones thicker and heavier, and thus less competitive. The EU and US markets are simply too small to justify an extra production line to manufacture a special version of a smartphone with a thicker chassis and multi-cell battery, according to Vivo. Instead, Vivo simply ships the same batteries in Europe as in China, but with reduced voltage to comply with the 20Wh limit.

For example, the battery of the Vivo X200 Pro holds 6,000mAh in most regions, but only 5,200mAh in Germany and Austria. The industry is looking for a change in legislation, but this is not expected to happen until 2027 at the earliest, and there are no specific plans for an adjustment of the aforementioned battery capacity limit. Even though Vivo’s survey shows that two-thirds of all users are dissatisfied with their smartphone's battery life, no improvement is in sight in the medium term.