Why are 3.8V lithium-ion batteries used in mobile devices, rather than 3.6V or 3.7V batteries?
So I did some research and found out that there's a recent advance in battery technology that allows LiPo cells, used in both mobile devices and hobbyist/RC applications, to operate at higher voltages. Specifically, a silicon-graphene additive is used in the anode to protect against corrosion at higher voltages, allowing them to be charged to 4.35V or even 4.4V. This results in slightly higher energy density, but charging the battery to higher voltages can reduce its service life.

The high power consumption of mobile devices means that high energy density is more important than any other characteristic. This means that reduced service life is an acceptable trade-off; since the typical consumer replaces their smartphone every two years, service life is not a major requirement.

In essence, the higher voltage is just another avenue of increasing overall energy density.