IPhone Supplier TDK Readies Batteries Geared for Thin AI Gadgets

Noboru Saito in Tokyo on Dec. 24. Photo by Shoko Takayasu /Photographer: Shoko Takayasu/Blo

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(Bloomberg) — TDK Corp. is readying a new generation of batteries to power smartphones through AI tasks at a time that major client Apple Inc. is also preparing to launch a slimmer handset.

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The Tokyo-based component maker will begin shipping its third iteration of silicon-anode batteries by the end of June, Chief Executive Officer Noboru Saito said. That’s ahead of TDK’s original schedule for shipments in the September quarter and may give smartphone makers enough time to use these cells in thinner models launching this year, he said.

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“We’ve made good progress, and we’re shipping them very soon,” he said in an interview. “Some handset makers might be able to use the new battery in their product one generation early.”

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TDK’s battery technology is helping the world’s biggest smartphone makers slim down their gadgets without shortening battery run times. Its latest lithium-ion batteries use silicon for anodes instead of the graphite commonly used and can pack 15% more energy into the same space compared with conventional rechargeable battery packs. 

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Samsung Electronics Co. this week rolled out the 5.9-millimeter-thin Galaxy S25 Edge, which is 30% slimmer than the company’s high-end S25 Ultra, while also promising a camera with new editing features and other AI capabilities.

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Apple is also set to debut a slimmer handset — the iPhone 17 Air — ushering in a new industrial design that may lead to thinner models from the Cupertino-based company in the future.

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Apple and Samsung are TDK’s biggest customers, each contributing about 10% of the Japanese company’s overall revenue, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Saito declined to disclose the new battery’s pricing or its customers, but said TDK’s offering the component to all customers who recognize the technology’s value.

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Silicon-anode battery technology can be applied to a range of cell sizes for use in a variety of products, from gadgets to electric vehicles. TDK’s battery subsidiary Amperex Technology Ltd. is the leading manufacturer of smaller silicon batteries used in smartphones and holds a “very large share,” according to Saito.

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“We plan to introduce fourth-generation silicon batteries some time in the next fiscal year to widen our lead even further,” he said. “Mass-producing silicon batteries requires special knowhow. It’s not like you can do it by just putting the materials together.”

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TDK expects global smartphone production to grow 1% to 12 billion units this year, although it’s warned that US trade policies may ultimately erase that growth. Last month, the company presented its annual outlook as a range rather than a single number for the first time, citing uncertainty around US tariffs. 

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Companies need to be ready to react to developments outside their control and be dynamic and flexible in response to customer requests, Saito said.

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For TDK, that means diversifying production locations. Amperex has mainly assembled batteries in China, but it’s setting up a new factory in India that’ll go online by September. Initial production capacity at the Indian facility is not large, but it’s not difficult to produce silicon batteries on graphite battery production lines, Saito said while declining to disclose which batteries TDK plans to make there. 

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More manufacturers are building manufacturing capabilities outside China, with Apple expanding capacity in India and Nintendo Co. doing so in Vietnam and Cambodia. Saito said that how TDK allocates production between China and India will hinge on customer requests.

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—With assistance from Vlad Savov.

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