Samsung is working on graphene ball batteries. They are looking for a 45% increase in capacity and five times faster in charging. A smartphone battery can have the capacity of what is now in laptops. I also like the idea of not relying on scarce materials. If it pans out, it will be years in the making though.
Could this be a device utopia, or will we end up getting use to bigger capacities and start complaining all over again? 
640K ought to be enough for anybody.
An interesting podcast from the BBC about the chemical elements and their place in the global economy.
The below episode discusses properties of graphene and it’s potential applications.
RSS feed:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01rcrn6/episodes/downloads.rss
The Essential remains by far the best phone I’ve owned from a battery perspective. it’s not where I’d like devices to be quite yet, but it’s getting close.
–jeremy
I honestly do not have a problem with battery life. I have a Pixel Xl, use the phone with bluetooth headphones listenining to podcasts / music for > 4 - 5 hours a day, two ~30 min nav trips in the car. I would consider this average usage and at the end of the day im usually around 45 - 55 % battery.
Thuderf00t had an interesting perspective on the current state battery capacity and safety:
As for battery capacity today, I haven’t really had a problem with any modern phone. On the rare occasions where I could be caught short I carry an Anker Powercore Slim and a tiny cable to charge with in my pocket. My phone stays light and I essentially have a second battery when I need one.