HONOR is once again pushing the limits of smartphone battery capacity. A new leak claims the company has started trial production of a 12,000mAh battery, although it remains unclear which upcoming phone will use it.
The information comes from Weibo tipster Digital Chat Station, who says HONOR’s new battery has already entered the “trial production” stage.
According to the leak, 12,000mAh is the typical capacity HONOR would advertise for the battery.
Its actual rated capacity is reportedly 11,790mAh, while its rated energy is 43.86Wh.
That distinction is worth noting. Smartphone manufacturers commonly advertise the typical battery capacity, while the rated capacity represents the minimum or officially specified capacity under testing conditions.
Which HONOR phone will get it?
That’s still the big question.
HONOR has previously been linked to an 11,000mAh to 12,000mAh battery for the upcoming HONOR Power 3. Earlier reports indicated that the Power 3 could use a battery in that range, before later information pointed toward a capacity of around 10,000mAh.
HONOR has also reportedly been working on an even larger 14,000mAh smartphone battery, although its current status remains unclear.
Digital Chat Station did not identify the specific device intended to use the newly reported 12,000mAh battery.
That has opened the door to speculation around several upcoming HONOR phones. Some commenters on the tipster’s Weibo post believe it could be part of the HONOR Win 2 family, potentially the rumored HONOR Win Turbo2. Another possibility is that HONOR could still use it in the HONOR Power 3.
For now, there is no confirmation pointing definitively to either device.
HONOR keeps pushing battery capacity
The move would fit HONOR’s recent focus on extremely large smartphone batteries.
The HONOR Power 2, for example, already uses a 10,080mAh battery, while earlier leaks surrounding its successor have pointed toward even larger capacities.
The latest 12,000mAh battery development would take that strategy another step further, but the battery itself does not guarantee that a commercial smartphone will launch with the full advertised capacity.
Trial production is still part of the development process, meaning the final battery specifications can change before a phone reaches the market.
Still an early leak
For now, HONOR has not officially confirmed the 12,000mAh battery, the device it is designed for, or when a phone using it will launch.
The only concrete details from the latest leak are the reported 12,000mAh typical capacity, 11,790mAh rated capacity, 43.86Wh rated energy, and trial-production status.
Whether it ends up inside the Power 3, a Win 2-series device, or another HONOR phone remains to be seen. For now, the company’s battery roadmap is getting increasingly ambitious, but the 12,000mAh figure should still be treated as unofficial information.