Xiaomi’s next flagships are hiding a monster upgrade where it matters most

Xiaomi is said to be the first Android phone maker to offer smartphones powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 (or previously referred to as the 8 Elite Gen 2 chip). According to a new leak, Xiaomi is again attacking the flagship market by providing huge batteries to its upcoming phones. 

Reputable leaker Yogesh Brar is now hinting that we’ll see three phones from the Xiaomi 16 series: Xiaomi 16, Xiaomi 16 Pro, and Xiaomi 16 Pro Max. 

According to the tipster, the standard model will come with a big 7,000mAh battery, the Pro will have a 6,300mAh one, and the Pro Max may sport a huge 7,500mAh battery cell. 

For reference, the standard Xiaomi 15 sports a 5,400mAh battery cell and a relatively compact body, so the Xiaomi 16 would be a notable upgrade over its predecessor, if the leaker is right. Especially if it keeps the same compact-ish form factor. 

For the Pro, we have a mild 200mAh battery upgrade (the Xiaomi 15 Pro rocks a 6,100mAh one). Rumor has it that the Xiaomi 16 Pro will sport a compact-ish screen of around 6.3 inches, while the Xiaomi 16 Pro Max may be the true successor to the Xiaomi 15 Pro (like what Google did with the Pixel 9 Pro and XL). And yep, it has a huge battery. 
It’s likely that Xiaomi is able to pull this off thanks to improved silicon-carbon battery tech. Of course, internal optimizations to the design are also likely to have helped with that. Maybe the thickness of the phones will grow a bit, though. 

Global users may have to wait until February or even March to be able to purchase one of these bad boys, though. And while Samsung and Apple are stuck with smaller battery cells on their flagship phones, brands from China are starting to get seriously impressive in this department. It’s not just Xiaomi, but rumors have it that the Oppo Find X9 Pro may come with a 7,550mAh battery, and the OnePlus 15 is rumored to come with something in the lines of a 7,000mAh battery. 

I’m a huge fan of big batteries, as long as they don’t make the design too thick or heavy. A heavy user like myself can never have enough battery life, so I’m happy that the industry is going in this direction. I just want Samsung and Apple to start offering bigger batteries as well.

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