Apple's iPhone XR has the best claimed battery life of any iPhone, ever

Posted:
in iPhone edited September 2018
Apple says the new iPhone XR offers battery life of 1.5 hours more than the iPhone 8 Plus, making it the best ever. AppleInsider takes a look back at similar claims Apple has made about the product line in the past.

The new iPhone XR


When Apple unveiled the new iPhone XR at its Gather Round event in Cupertino Wednesday, one aspect of the phone's specs stood out. Phil Schiller said on stage that the XR will get 1.5 hours more of battery life than the iPhone 8 Plus. This would make it longest-lasting iPhone ever.

The iPhone XR's specs list talk time of up to 25 hours, Internet use up to 15 hours, video playback (wireless) of up to 16 hours, and audio playback (wireless) of up to 65 hours.

In comparison, the iPhone XS claims talk time of up to 20 hours and Internet use of up to 12, while the iPhone XS Max claims 25 hours of talk time but only 13 hours of Internet time.

Those numbers, however, dwarf the specs listed for older iPhones.

iPhone Battery life throughout history

Apple has claimed a lot of different battery life numbers at launch for iPhones over the course of the product's history. Of course, battery life at launch and a year or two later is often very different, and can also fluctuate wildly from iPhone to iPhone.

First iPhone


When the original iPhone launched in 2007, Apple claimed "8 hours of talk time, 6 hours of Internet use, 7 hours of video playback or 24 hours of audio playback." This came in a June 2007 press release that said the device would offer "significantly longer battery life when it ships on June 29 than was originally estimated when iPhone was unveiled in January."

The iPhone 3G, the following year, actually downgraded the advertised battery life.

"iPhone 3G offers up to 5 hours of talk time on 3G, 10 hours of talk time on 2G,1 5 hours of Internet use on 3G2, 6 hours of Internet use on Wi-Fi,7 hours of video playback, 24 hours of audio playback on a full charge at original capacity," the company said in a press release in June 2008. The decline in battery life was part of the price to pay for the upgrade in connectivity.

The iPhone 3GS in 2009 touted "longer battery life." Its specs listed up to 5 hours on 3G but up to 12 hours on 2G. For Internet use, the iPhone 3GS battery offered 5 hours on 3G but 9 hours on Wi-Fi.

iPhone 4


The iPhone 4, which arrived in 2010, also touted "long battery life," while also including a disclaimer that "battery life depends on device settings, usage and other factors. Actual results vary." The device's official specs claimed up to 7 hours of talk time on 3G, a number that doubled to 14 on 2G for the GSM model. That device offered 6 hours of battery life for Internet use on 3G and 10 hours on Wi-Fi, with 10 hours of video playback and 40 hours of audio playback.

Apple's iPhone 4S, in 2011, touted up to 8 hours of talk time on 3G and up to 14 hours on 2G, while offering up to 6 hours of Internet use on 3G and up to 9 hours on Wi-Fi. The playback times, like its predecessor, were up to 10 hours for video and 40 for audio.

The following year, the iPhone 5 kept the advertised talk time to 8 hours on 3G, while upgrading Internet use to 8 hours on both 3G and LTE but up to 10 hours on Wi-Fi. The playback times, once again, remained at up to 10 and 40 hours for video and audio.

The iPhone 5S, in 2013, saw an upgrade of up to 10 hours of talk time on 3G, although Internet use remained 8 hours on 3G, moving up to 10 hours each for LTE and Wi-Fi. Video and audio playback remained up to 10 and 40 hours, respectively.

Meanwhile, the 5C, also that year, listed up to 10 hours of talk time on 3G, 8 hours of Internet use on 3G that upgraded to 10 each on LTE and Wi-Fi, and video and audio playback that remained at up to 10 and 40 hours.

Great leap forward

The iPhone 6, which arrived in 2014, saw a big jump to up to 14 hours of 3G talk time. Internet use was up to 10 hours on 3G, up to 10 hours on LTE, up to 11 hours on WiFi. Video playback was listed as up to 11 hours, with audio playback of up to 50 hours.

But, the 6 Plus, released that same fall, reached a new level, advertising up to 24 hours on 3G, with Internet use reaching up to 12 hours for 3G, LTE and Wi-Fi. Apple advertised up to 14 hours for HD video playback and audio playback of up to 80 hours.

When Apple released the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus in the fall of 2015, it didn't adjust the talk time, once again offering up to 14 hours of 3G talk time for the smaller model and up to 24 hours of 3G talk time for the larger one. Internet use numbers also stayed the same.

In late 2017, Apple issued a statement about worn batteries in some older models, including iPhone 6, iPhone 6s and iPhone SE, leading to unexpected shutdowns. They claimed they had solved the problem iOS 10.2.1 a year earlier, but some problems persisted, leading Apple to reduce the price of out-of-warranty iPhone battery replacement to $29, and launched another iOS software update.

Apple would have to admit later that that iOS 10.2.1 update had temporarily throttled iPhones with depleted battery cells.

iPhone 7 and 7 Plus


In 2016, when it released the iPhone 7, Apple claimed it "lasts up to 2 hours longer than iPhone 6s," while the concurrent iPhone 7 Plus "lasts up to 1 hour longer than iPhone 6s Plus." The iPhone 7 listed talk time on 3G of up to 14 hours and the 7 Plus touting up to 21 hours on 3G. The 7 offered up to 12 hours of Internet use on 3G and LTE, and up to 14 on Wi-Fi, while the 7 Plus upped those numbers to 13, 13, and 15.

The iPhone SE, released at the same time, offered 14 hours of talk time on 3G, up to 12 hours of Internet use on 3G and 14 each on LTE and Wi-Fi. It offered up to 13 hours of video playbook and 50 hours of audio playback.

When the 2017 models arrived, Apple touted the battery life in the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus as "about the same" as the 7 and 7 Plus.

But the iPhone X advertised its battery as lasting "up to 2 hours longer than iPhone 7." This meant talk time of up to 21 hours, Internet use of up to 12 hours, and video and audio playback of up to 13 and 60 hours, respectively.

Life of a battery

Battery life, once again, doesn't necessarily always live up to its promise, especially as a device gets older. While battery life has sometimes taken a backseat to other aesthetic and functional considerations throughout Apple's history, it is certainly something that's important to customers on a day to day basis.

And, it's also something that, slowly, Apple has found a way to improve over time.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 33
    saareksaarek Posts: 1,520member
    The more I read about the iPhone Xr the more I realise that it represents the best value, by a long margin, of the three new handsets.

    No way does an OLED screen and a slightly better camera system justify £250 more.
    canukstormbackstab
  • Reply 2 of 33
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    saarek said:
    The more I read about the iPhone Xr the more I realise that it represents the best value, by a long margin, of the three new handsets.

    No way does an OLED screen and a slightly better camera system justify £250 more.
    You can have your opinion and I can have mine.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 33
    saareksaarek Posts: 1,520member
    lkrupp said:
    saarek said:
    The more I read about the iPhone Xr the more I realise that it represents the best value, by a long margin, of the three new handsets.

    No way does an OLED screen and a slightly better camera system justify £250 more.
    You can have your opinion and I can have mine.
    Absolutely, you’re more than entitled to your opinion of course! I have to say I am genuinely intrigued by your opinion though.

    What is it, about the Xs, that justifies in your mind the extra £250 over the Xr?
    aylk
  • Reply 4 of 33
    That’s a very interesting consideration for buyers. Battery life may be far more important to some people.
    bb-15
  • Reply 5 of 33
    saarek said:
    The more I read about the iPhone Xr the more I realise that it represents the best value, by a long margin, of the three new handsets.

    No way does an OLED screen and a slightly better camera system justify £250 more.
    2X optical + 6X digital vs 0X optical + 2X digital? That's more than "slightly better" when it comes to the camera system. You also have the dual-sim capability + HDR capable display + extra RAM + gigabit LTE.
    aylkwatto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 33
    saarek said:
    lkrupp said:
    saarek said:
    The more I read about the iPhone Xr the more I realise that it represents the best value, by a long margin, of the three new handsets.

    No way does an OLED screen and a slightly better camera system justify £250 more.
    You can have your opinion and I can have mine.
    Absolutely, you’re more than entitled to your opinion of course! I have to say I am genuinely intrigued by your opinion though.

    What is it, about the Xs, that justifies in your mind the extra £250 over the Xr?
    2x optical zoom isn’t “slightly better” to anyone who shoots a lot of photos/video. Also, Xs has 1GB more RAM, 3D Touch, IP68.

    anything else I’m missing?
    aylkspace2001shark5150watto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 33
    saareksaarek Posts: 1,520member
    saarek said:
    lkrupp said:
    saarek said:
    The more I read about the iPhone Xr the more I realise that it represents the best value, by a long margin, of the three new handsets.

    No way does an OLED screen and a slightly better camera system justify £250 more.
    You can have your opinion and I can have mine.
    Absolutely, you’re more than entitled to your opinion of course! I have to say I am genuinely intrigued by your opinion though.

    What is it, about the Xs, that justifies in your mind the extra £250 over the Xr?
    2x optical zoom isn’t “slightly better” to anyone who shoots a lot of photos/video. Also, Xs has 1GB more RAM, 3D Touch, IP68.

    anything else I’m missing?
    3D Touch, at least generally to my knowledge, is not used by most iPhone users. I think the only time I use it is when I want to choose how bright I want the torch to be, but your milage may vary of course.

    The extra ram has not yet been confirmed, has it? But even so it is likely to be a negligible hit to the performance.

    IP68, definitely a plus, but I can't think of many scenarios where this will really make a difference. Dropping it in the pool, down the toilet, in a fishing lake etc and you're all good to go with either handset.

    Optical Zoom, yes I can see why you'd want that if you use the phone in a semi-professional capacity. But for most people who just want to take holiday snaps pics of the kids, you'll not notice a difference.

    **Update, there is a difference in the Ram, 3GB vs 4GB, but benchmarks seem to indicate a very small increase in performance overall, generally unnoticeable. 
    edited September 2018 Nam3lessNam3less
  • Reply 8 of 33
    saarek said: **Update, there is a difference in the Ram, 3GB vs 4GB, but benchmarks seem to indicate a very small increase in performance overall, generally unnoticeable. 
    The extra RAM is going to make a difference when you get into higher end uses like 4K video editing etc. Remember, the XS screen tech can actually display HDR, whereas the XR cannot. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 33
    saarek said:
    saarek said:
    lkrupp said:
    saarek said:
    The more I read about the iPhone Xr the more I realise that it represents the best value, by a long margin, of the three new handsets.

    No way does an OLED screen and a slightly better camera system justify £250 more.
    You can have your opinion and I can have mine.
    Absolutely, you’re more than entitled to your opinion of course! I have to say I am genuinely intrigued by your opinion though.

    What is it, about the Xs, that justifies in your mind the extra £250 over the Xr?
    2x optical zoom isn’t “slightly better” to anyone who shoots a lot of photos/video. Also, Xs has 1GB more RAM, 3D Touch, IP68.

    anything else I’m missing?
    3D Touch, at least generally to my knowledge, is not used by most iPhone users. I think the only time I use it is when I want to choose how bright I want the torch to be, but your milage may vary of course.

    The extra ram has not yet been confirmed, has it? But even so it is likely to be a negligible hit to the performance.

    IP68, definitely a plus, but I can't think of many scenarios where this will really make a difference. Dropping it in the pool, down the toilet, in a fishing lake etc and you're all good to go with either handset.

    Optical Zoom, yes I can see why you'd want that if you use the phone in a semi-professional capacity. But for most people who just want to take holiday snaps pics of the kids, you'll not notice a difference.

    **Update, there is a difference in the Ram, 3GB vs 4GB, but benchmarks seem to indicate a very small increase in performance overall, generally unnoticeable. 
    I forgot dual SIM in the Xs. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 10 of 33
    claire1claire1 Posts: 510unconfirmed, member
    saarek said:
    lkrupp said:
    saarek said:
    The more I read about the iPhone Xr the more I realise that it represents the best value, by a long margin, of the three new handsets.

    No way does an OLED screen and a slightly better camera system justify £250 more.
    You can have your opinion and I can have mine.
    Absolutely, you’re more than entitled to your opinion of course! I have to say I am genuinely intrigued by your opinion though.

    What is it, about the Xs, that justifies in your mind the extra £250 over the Xr?

    This is a huge problem. The average consumer isn't gonna be tempted to spend more because they won't know any differences. Heck more will prefer the colorful look even after entering the Store to buy an XS.

    Size on the other hand would have made a huge difference both visually and price wise. (Yes I know theres like a .3 inch difference that the AVERAGE consumer won't notice.)

    iPhone-X-Plus-concept - GizBrain - Your Tech Brain
  • Reply 11 of 33
    saareksaarek Posts: 1,520member
    saarek said:
    saarek said:
    lkrupp said:
    saarek said:
    The more I read about the iPhone Xr the more I realise that it represents the best value, by a long margin, of the three new handsets.

    No way does an OLED screen and a slightly better camera system justify £250 more.
    You can have your opinion and I can have mine.
    Absolutely, you’re more than entitled to your opinion of course! I have to say I am genuinely intrigued by your opinion though.

    What is it, about the Xs, that justifies in your mind the extra £250 over the Xr?
    2x optical zoom isn’t “slightly better” to anyone who shoots a lot of photos/video. Also, Xs has 1GB more RAM, 3D Touch, IP68.

    anything else I’m missing?
    3D Touch, at least generally to my knowledge, is not used by most iPhone users. I think the only time I use it is when I want to choose how bright I want the torch to be, but your milage may vary of course.

    The extra ram has not yet been confirmed, has it? But even so it is likely to be a negligible hit to the performance.

    IP68, definitely a plus, but I can't think of many scenarios where this will really make a difference. Dropping it in the pool, down the toilet, in a fishing lake etc and you're all good to go with either handset.

    Optical Zoom, yes I can see why you'd want that if you use the phone in a semi-professional capacity. But for most people who just want to take holiday snaps pics of the kids, you'll not notice a difference.

    **Update, there is a difference in the Ram, 3GB vs 4GB, but benchmarks seem to indicate a very small increase in performance overall, generally unnoticeable. 
    I forgot dual SIM in the Xs. 
    I'm getting mixed messages on dual sim, some sites indicate that it is present in the Xr.
  • Reply 12 of 33
    jcs2305jcs2305 Posts: 1,336member
    saarek said: **Update, there is a difference in the Ram, 3GB vs 4GB, but benchmarks seem to indicate a very small increase in performance overall, generally unnoticeable. 
    The extra RAM is going to make a difference when you get into higher end uses like 4K video editing etc. Remember, the XS screen tech can actually display HDR, whereas the XR cannot. 
    iPhone XR can't display 1080p resolution images or videos in addition to no HDR. I was surprised with this step back with the screen. Iphone 6 Plus - 8 Plus have 1920-by-1080-pixel resolution at 401 ppi. While the XR has 1792 by 828 pixel resolution at 326 ppi. I only mention this because on Apple.com they compare the XR to the 8 Plus as a direct replacement that is better in every way?


    It's just a stretched iphone 6,7 or 8 screen at that resolution. 



    watto_cobra
  • Reply 13 of 33
    nunzynunzy Posts: 662member
    Those Android slaves won't bbe able to mock us for short battery life, not anymore! They used to claim iPhone users had to camp out near wall outlets. Now they look like the fools that they are for doing that.

    Go go Apple!
  • Reply 14 of 33
    saarek said:
    saarek said:
    lkrupp said:
    saarek said:
    The more I read about the iPhone Xr the more I realise that it represents the best value, by a long margin, of the three new handsets.

    No way does an OLED screen and a slightly better camera system justify £250 more.
    You can have your opinion and I can have mine.
    Absolutely, you’re more than entitled to your opinion of course! I have to say I am genuinely intrigued by your opinion though.

    What is it, about the Xs, that justifies in your mind the extra £250 over the Xr?
    2x optical zoom isn’t “slightly better” to anyone who shoots a lot of photos/video. Also, Xs has 1GB more RAM, 3D Touch, IP68.

    anything else I’m missing?
    3D Touch, at least generally to my knowledge, is not used by most iPhone users. I think the only time I use it is when I want to choose how bright I want the torch to be, but your milage may vary of course.

    The extra ram has not yet been confirmed, has it? But even so it is likely to be a negligible hit to the performance.

    IP68, definitely a plus, but I can't think of many scenarios where this will really make a difference. Dropping it in the pool, down the toilet, in a fishing lake etc and you're all good to go with either handset.

    Optical Zoom, yes I can see why you'd want that if you use the phone in a semi-professional capacity. But for most people who just want to take holiday snaps pics of the kids, you'll not notice a difference.

    **Update, there is a difference in the Ram, 3GB vs 4GB, but benchmarks seem to indicate a very small increase in performance overall, generally unnoticeable. 
    I was in the same camp when the iphone was launched. But I think other than the screen the camera is a big downgrade from the iPhone 8+ that I currently have. The zoom alone probably matters most to anyone who only uses iPhone for all kinds of photography.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 15 of 33
    Mike WuertheleMike Wuerthele Posts: 6,858administrator
    saarek said:
    saarek said:
    saarek said:
    lkrupp said:
    saarek said:
    The more I read about the iPhone Xr the more I realise that it represents the best value, by a long margin, of the three new handsets.

    No way does an OLED screen and a slightly better camera system justify £250 more.
    You can have your opinion and I can have mine.
    Absolutely, you’re more than entitled to your opinion of course! I have to say I am genuinely intrigued by your opinion though.

    What is it, about the Xs, that justifies in your mind the extra £250 over the Xr?
    2x optical zoom isn’t “slightly better” to anyone who shoots a lot of photos/video. Also, Xs has 1GB more RAM, 3D Touch, IP68.

    anything else I’m missing?
    3D Touch, at least generally to my knowledge, is not used by most iPhone users. I think the only time I use it is when I want to choose how bright I want the torch to be, but your milage may vary of course.

    The extra ram has not yet been confirmed, has it? But even so it is likely to be a negligible hit to the performance.

    IP68, definitely a plus, but I can't think of many scenarios where this will really make a difference. Dropping it in the pool, down the toilet, in a fishing lake etc and you're all good to go with either handset.

    Optical Zoom, yes I can see why you'd want that if you use the phone in a semi-professional capacity. But for most people who just want to take holiday snaps pics of the kids, you'll not notice a difference.

    **Update, there is a difference in the Ram, 3GB vs 4GB, but benchmarks seem to indicate a very small increase in performance overall, generally unnoticeable. 
    I forgot dual SIM in the Xs. 
    I'm getting mixed messages on dual sim, some sites indicate that it is present in the Xr.
    It is present in the XR.

    Bottom right:


    watto_cobra
  • Reply 16 of 33
    saarek said:
    The more I read about the iPhone Xr the more I realise that it represents the best value, by a long margin, of the three new handsets.

    No way does an OLED screen and a slightly better camera system justify £250 more.
    Double lens with double optical image stabilization is significantly better camera system not slightly better.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 17 of 33

    jcs2305 said:
    saarek said: **Update, there is a difference in the Ram, 3GB vs 4GB, but benchmarks seem to indicate a very small increase in performance overall, generally unnoticeable. 
    The extra RAM is going to make a difference when you get into higher end uses like 4K video editing etc. Remember, the XS screen tech can actually display HDR, whereas the XR cannot. 
    iPhone XR can't display 1080p resolution images or videos in addition to no HDR. I was surprised with this step back with the screen. Iphone 6 Plus - 8 Plus have 1920-by-1080-pixel resolution at 401 ppi. While the XR has 1792 by 828 pixel resolution at 326 ppi. I only mention this because on Apple.com they compare the XR to the 8 Plus as a direct replacement that is better in every way?


    It's just a stretched iphone 6,7 or 8 screen at that resolution. 

    Since they call it "Retina" it is 2x. Super Retina is 3x. At 2x the XR will have 414 point width (828 / 2 = 414) which is the width of the Plus form factor. So, the XR offers the same increased vertical viewable area in landscape orientation, same as 8 Plus and XS Max. The XS with 375 point width (1125 / 3 = 375) is not the most suited to landscape use just like the X. As such, Apple's comparison is correct and the XR is the direct replacement of 8 Plus in terms of viewable area.
    edited September 2018 watto_cobra
  • Reply 18 of 33
    saarek said:
    The more I read about the iPhone Xr the more I realise that it represents the best value, by a long margin, of the three new handsets.

    No way does an OLED screen and a slightly better camera system justify £250 more.
    I’ve been thinking the SAME THING all day today! Ive been reading up (a lot) on all the new models trying to decide if I want one of them or just hang onto my older model longer, and every way I look at it, the Xr is looking more and more like the one to get. But better get it ASAP cause once Apple realizes it’s TOO good and affecting sales of the XS and XS Max, they’ll yank it next fall and replace it with a crappier one. And before I get shot, by “crappier” I mean less of a value compared to their top tier models. Much less features using the latest and greatest technology, etc. 

    Just that rear camera, though. Why does it have to be so ugly? They could’ve integrated it into the body better like they did with the 7. 
    edited September 2018
  • Reply 19 of 33
    saarek said:
    The more I read about the iPhone Xr the more I realise that it represents the best value, by a long margin, of the three new handsets.

    No way does an OLED screen and a slightly better camera system justify £250 more.
    I’ve been thinking the SAME THING all day today! Ive been reading up (a lot) on all the new models trying to decide if I want one of them or just hang onto my older model longer, and every way I look at it, the Xr is looking more and more like the one to get. But better get it ASAP cause once Apple realizes it’s TOO good and affecting sales of the XS and XS Max, they’ll yank it next fall and replace it with a crappier one. And before I get shot, by “crappier” I mean less of a value compared to their top tier models. Much less features using the latest and greatest technology, etc. 

    Just that rear camera, though. Why does it have to be so ugly? They could’ve integrated it into the body better like they did with the 7. 

    iPhone XR is designed specifically to bring good value and to amount for the bunk of iPhone sales. 

    I have no doubts that the iPhone XR was designed to be the "meat" while the XS was designed to be the "fat" 
  • Reply 20 of 33
    jcs2305jcs2305 Posts: 1,336member

    jcs2305 said:
    saarek said: **Update, there is a difference in the Ram, 3GB vs 4GB, but benchmarks seem to indicate a very small increase in performance overall, generally unnoticeable. 
    The extra RAM is going to make a difference when you get into higher end uses like 4K video editing etc. Remember, the XS screen tech can actually display HDR, whereas the XR cannot. 
    iPhone XR can't display 1080p resolution images or videos in addition to no HDR. I was surprised with this step back with the screen. Iphone 6 Plus - 8 Plus have 1920-by-1080-pixel resolution at 401 ppi. While the XR has 1792 by 828 pixel resolution at 326 ppi. I only mention this because on Apple.com they compare the XR to the 8 Plus as a direct replacement that is better in every way?


    It's just a stretched iphone 6,7 or 8 screen at that resolution. 

    Since they call it "Retina" it is 2x. Super Retina is 3x. At 2x the XR will have 414 point width (828 / 2 = 414) which is the width of the Plus form factor. So, the XR offers the same increased vertical viewable area in landscape orientation, same as 8 Plus and XS Max. The XS with 375 point width (1125 / 3 = 375) is not the most suited to landscape use just like the X. As such, Apple's comparison is correct and the XR is the direct replacement of 8 Plus in terms of viewable area.
    I am not sure why you took the time  to explain the viewable area between these 3 models. My point is that as a replacement I wouldn’t expect to take a step back in screen resolution or ppi. I have been using the plus model since iPhone 6 and the higher resolution and ppi are noticeabley better than it’s smaller counterpart. This isn’t scientific this is just how my eyes see one screen to the other.  

    I don’t feel as though Apple lied or I was mislead I just pointed out something that has taken the XR out of consideration for me.  
    watto_cobra
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