WTF?! The technology in today's phones is lightyears ahead of those from the late 90s and early 2000s, but one advantage of those simpler times was that the handsets lasted for days without needing a charge. A Redditor decided to add this functionality to a modern Samsung device by modding it with a 30,000 mAh battery, and what it lacks in looks, it makes up for with a long life.
Redditor u/Downtown_Cranberry44 carried out the DIY experiment on their Galaxy A32 5G. It already has a 5,000 mAh battery, bigger than most current smartphones, giving it a full day or two of use before needing a charge.
But Downtown_Cranberry44 wanted more. 9to5Google reports that they replaced the A32's battery with a 30,000 mAh version made up of six Samsung 50E cells wired in parallel. They estimate that it should offer around one full week of use, though it does take a massive seven hours to charge. The redditor said it had lasted two days "so far."
The mod includes inputs for USB-C, micro USB, and Lightning connections, as well as two USB-A output ports for charging other devices.
The battery alteration certainly isn't the most attractive of phone accessory. It also adds around a pound of weight and 1.1 inches in thickness, making this a heavy, meaty handset. There's also the problem of getting the phone on a US flight as the TSA bans batteries with capacities larger than 27,000 mAh being brought on planes. Moreover, the size and lack of proper casing mean there are also risks of leakage and accidental damage to consider.
There have been efforts to make modern phones with massive batteries in the past. Energizer revealed the prototype Power Max P18K Pop at Mobile World Congress 2019. The successor to the Power Max P16K Pro, which was on display the previous year, packed a huge 18,000 mAh battery. All the attention led to a crowdfunding campaign that saw just $15,005 raised toward the $1.2 million goal, or 99% short of its target.