Apple's iPhone 8 & 8 Plus use smaller batteries, maintain battery life

AppleInsider

Apple has actually shrunk the batteries in the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus versus their predecessors while maintaining the same longevity, filings with the Chinese government show.

The iPhone 8 has a 1,821 milliamp-hour battery, while the 8 Plus is rated at 2,675 milliamp-hours, according to TENAA listings noticed by leak source Steve Hemmerstoffer. TENAA is an agency similiar to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission.

The iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, by contrast, are equipped with 1,960 and 2,900 milliamp-hour batteries. Apple's website suggests that the 8 and 8 Plus have "about the same" life, with similar statistics for talk time, video playback, and internet use -- though figures for the new phones don't distinguish between 3G, 4G, and Wi-Fi connections.

Apple presumably shrank battery sizes to accommodate new internal components, such as a wireless charging system. To compensate the company would have to rely on more power-efficient hardware, like the 10-nanometer A11 Bionic processor.

TENAA has also confirmed leaks from the iOS 11 GM which pointed to the iPhone 8 having 2 gigabytes of RAM and the 8 Plus using 3. The Plus may need the extra memory to accommodate its bigger display and dual-lens camera system.

It's not yet known what size battery the iPhone X is using, but KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo once claimed that Apple would go with a Plus-sized component -- something likely necessary given a 5.8-inch OLED screen.

Preorders for the iPhone 8 begin tomorrow, Sept. 15, in advance of a Sept. 22 ship date. The iPhone X will ship on Nov. 3.

fallenjt

Now, let's start complaining about thinness vs battery. I don't like battery in my 7+...it lasts only 2 full days /s.

tipoo

Makes sense that the more efficient processor more or less balances the 7% smaller battery...

But given that the battery size had just been increased in the 7 after the headphone jack removal, people are going to be pissed regardless. It's probably for space for the inductive charging I'd guess. 

entropys

It's not yet known what size battery the iPhone X is using, but KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo once claimed that Apple would go with a Plus-sized component -- something likely necessary given a 5.8-inch OLED screen.

This is is my concern. Smaller form factor, bigger screen. Maybe the removal of the Touch ID sensor left more room?

Edit: this is Apple's battery life claim:

For the iPhone X: Lasts up to 2 hours longer than iPhone 7
For the iPhone 8 Plus: Lasts about the same as iPhone 7 Plus

capnbob

They did the same moving from 6 to 6s - 1851 to 1700

tshapi

entropys said:

It's not yet known what size battery the iPhone X is using, but KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo once claimed that Apple would go with a Plus-sized component -- something likely necessary given a 5.8-inch OLED screen.

This is is my concern. Smaller form factor, bigger screen. Maybe the removal of the Touch ID sensor left more room?

Edit: this is Apple's battery life claim:

For the iPhone X: Lasts up to 2 hours longer than iPhone 7
For the iPhone 8 Plus: Lasts about the same as iPhone 7 Plus

I was pointing these battery issues out yesterday. Imo Apple is usually very good about detailing battery life. But this year they just say a new phone with oled lasts 2 hours longer than the previous generation. Of a phone that's a similar size.   To me, that says the battery life isn't as good as they want It to be. 

radarthekat

Apple cares about the environment.  Shows in everything they produce.  Except for packaging.  Yeah, I know about the sustainable forests.  But let's still cut down on packaging, please.  Tim? 

spudit

It's no secret the 7 battery life is abysmal.  So they are saying the iPhone X lasts two hours longer than abysmal....which in my opinion is still not very good.   Apple has the battery life for each new model on their website, with the X showing as somewhat less (overall) than the 8 Plus, but better that 8..   Coming from a Plus model, it is discouraging that we will be forfeiting some battery life if we want to 'upgrade'.  

[Deleted User]

My iPhone 6 is almost 3 years old.
I uninstalled the FB app I wasn't even using anymore (i.e. never opened it and with no background update), and all of a sudden, with same usage patterns, a 3 year old battery gives me 2 days worth of charge. Consistently.
One can complain that iPhones last not more than 1 day, sure. Too bad that other phones out there require much bigger batteries to do the same. Apple's architecture is by far (battery lifetime vs mAh) the most efficient out there.

And truth is also that the same people who complain, use them a *lot* during the day. FB, Snapchat and dozens of other social media apps, forcing radios to chat all day long while syncing, updating, querying and so on. 

I actually find Apple's efforts to give a full day of use, while providing ever faster processors, better displays, better cameras, and amazingly smaller batteries...quite a tech marvel. Can we say the same of its competition?
And if one removes badly written and bloated software (the FB app - a 219MB heavy browser that pings FB servers all the time and gets "updated" every 2 weeks reaching version 140.0! - it seems that they are removing and adding bugs all the time.... ), one can actually get more than that, even on a 3 year old phone.

I am upgrading to the 8 - I am expecting even more than 2 days lifetime. Because yes, no buggy bloatware Facebook (and all the others like it) on my phone.
(they needed to add 4 low power cores, 70% faster than the A10 to keep Facebook app at bay...)

PS: Packaging - the only reason they cannot reduced it seems to be the charger and the headsets. How to remove those? Either not offering them, or what else?

kevin kee

spudit said:

It's no secret the 7 battery life is abysmal.  

My 7 plus lasts 2 days, what secret are you talking about?

willcropoint

radarthekat said:

Apple cares about the environment.  Shows in everything they produce.  Except for packaging.  Yeah, I know about the sustainable forests.  But let's still cut down on packaging, please.  Tim? 

Their packagings are made almost exclusively from "paper", the quantity of plastic like materials is minimal IMHO. Isn't it an accomplishment by itself? What do you think they could do to make those better? No sarcasm.

harry wild

Apple should of added back the headphone jack!  Why inconvenient the buyer?

tipoo

radarthekat said:

Apple cares about the environment.  Shows in everything they produce.  Except for packaging.  Yeah, I know about the sustainable forests.  But let's still cut down on packaging, please.  Tim? 

They did actually, years ago. People must not remember what kind of boxes Powerbooks came in :P 

Somewhere around the Core 2 Duo era I think they switched to very slim packages, and mostly paper. I'm guessing they went as thin as they could before crossing a line of acceptable shipping losses. 

oledjt

OLED screen for IPhone X uses less power, that is why it has longer battery life.

MplsP

radarthekat said:

Apple cares about the environment.  Shows in everything they produce.  Except for packaging.  Yeah, I know about the sustainable forests.  But let's still cut down on packaging, please.  Tim? 

Really???? Apple has about the most minimal packaging possible. Look at the iPhone - I challenge you to make a smaller box that still holds everything. Even the extra material inside the box is minimal, considering you have to secure the contents.