iPhone 16 Pro Max beats all comers in battery life test

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in iPhone

It's not surprising that the largest smartphones by the likes of Apple and Samsung have the longest battery lives, because they have the biggest batteries -- but new testing shows that the iPhone 16 Pro Max beats them all.

Close-up of a gold iPhone 16 Pro Max side profile and rear view, showcasing three camera lenses and sleek design with a light flare.
The iPhone 16 Pro Max is the top smartphone for battery life.



Technology enthusiast site Tom's Guide has updated its rankings of battery life in popular smartphones for manufacturers' latest models. Its testing showed that the iPhone 16 Pro Max's battery, rated at 4685mAh, lasted for 18 hours and six minutes.

By comparison, Chinese smartphone OnePlus 12 managed 17 hours and 37 minutes. That's the closest to the iPhone 16 Pro Max -- but the OnePlus 12 has a larger 5,400mAh battery.

Samsung's Galaxy S24 Plus and Ultra models scored significantly lower at 16 hours 46 minutes, and 16 hours 45 minutes respectively.

Both of these were better than Apple's iPhone 16 Plus with its 16 hours and 29 minutes. However, the iPhone 16 Plus has a smaller 4674mAh battery, compared to the Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus's 4,900mAh.

Big jump in battery life



The regular iPhone 16, at 12 hours 43 minutes, has a significantly shorter battery life than its larger siblings in the range -- but still it showed well over an hour's improvement in battery life over the iPhone 15, which came in at 11 hours 5 minutes. Similarly, the iPhone 16 Plus added over two hours more battery time than the iPhone 15 Plus, which was rated at 14 hours 14 minutes.

That's a significant increase in just a year, and perhaps especially so for what are the regular iPhones. There is an even more marked increase for the iPhone 16 Pro models.

Specifically the battery life in the iPhone 16 Pro Max beat the iPhone 15 Pro Max by just over four hours. The smaller iPhone 16 Pro topped the iPhone 15 Pro's battery life by three and a half hours.

By comparison, Google's Pixel phone lineup lagged behind the industry leaders. The regular Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro both came in at around 13 and a half hours, while the Pixel 9 Pro XL managed 14 hours 37 minutes.

Note that while the figures were all measured using real-world tests, such as web surfing over 5G, in practice users will not necessarily see such significant improvements. That's because for consistency, the testing had the brightness of all smartphones set to 150 nits, where the iPhone 16 range can all go up to 2,000 nits.

As ever, battery life is directly dependent on usage. But the iPhone 16 Pro Max has the longest potential battery life, and all users will see a benefit from that.



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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 15
    twolf2919twolf2919 Posts: 140member
    Anecdotally - my wife and I upgraded from iPhone 15 Pro Maxes 8 days ago - the 16 Pro Max is actually doing worse.  Regularly now, by bed time our phones are 30% full whereas our 15 Pro Maxes were around 50% under same usage.  At first I thought it’s the usual initial battery drain as the data/apps/etc get downloaded again - and, maybe this time, some AI stuff gets initialized with data on our phones, but it’s now day 8 - and battery use still hasn’t recovered on either of our phones.  Ergo, battery is worse - at least for us - on the new phones.
    williamlondonappleinsideruserBart Ykamyk35watto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 15
    M68000M68000 Posts: 855member
    This is all well and good.  But,  I’m really disappointed by iOS 18 so far.  Initially,
    my iPhone 15 seemed okay but after a few days things seem slow on WiFi.  In general, there are a ton of reports about sluggish phones and non responsive screens. How could this have been approved for release???  Have been using iPhones since iPhone 1,  iOS 18 is likely the worst yet and the AI features are not even enabled for phones that support that.  Really looking forward to Apple to redeem itself and fix iOS 18.   iOS 17.7 was great and now I regret updating 

    I’m assuming the hectic pace of keeping up with Wall Street schedule expectations is putting real strain on the development teams.  Is that right @Tim Cook?  So,  your company releases a half baked OS version instead of waiting for it to be ready and better tested?  And, you are okay with that Tim ??  Would be curious to know how
    many people are in the QA team and how much hardware and variations have been tested OR not.  
    edited September 28 williamlondon
  • Reply 3 of 15
    longfanglongfang Posts: 515member
    M68000 said:
    This is all well and good.  But,  I’m really disappointed by iOS 18 so far.  Initially,
    my iPhone 15 seemed okay but after a few days things seem slow on WiFi.  In general, there are a ton of reports about sluggish phones and non responsive screens. How could this have been approved for release???  Have been using iPhones since iPhone 1,  iOS 18 is likely the worst yet and the AI features are not even enabled for phones that support that.  Really looking forward to Apple to redeem itself and fix iOS 18.   iOS 17.7 was great and now I regret updating 

    I’m assuming the hectic pace of keeping up with Wall Street schedule expectations is putting real strain on the development teams.  Is that right @Tim Cook?  So,  your company releases a half baked OS version instead of waiting for it to be ready and better tested?  And, you are okay with that Tim ??  Would be curious to know how
    many people are in the QA team and how much hardware and variations have been tested OR not.  
    Otoh iOS 18 is running just fine for me on a 15 Pro. 
    edited September 29 williamlondonBart Ykamyk35watto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 15
    saareksaarek Posts: 1,567member
    The latest Samsung S24 Ultra easily smashes the latest iPhones on battery life. It’s not even close. Check out the Mrwhosetheboss video comparing all the iPhones on battery life with the Samsung randomly chucked in.

    These are certainly top tier, but have a long way to go to get the crown.
    edited September 29 williamlondonapple4thewinctt_zh
  • Reply 5 of 15
    elijahgelijahg Posts: 2,834member
    twolf2919 said:
    Anecdotally - my wife and I upgraded from iPhone 15 Pro Maxes 8 days ago - the 16 Pro Max is actually doing worse.  Regularly now, by bed time our phones are 30% full whereas our 15 Pro Maxes were around 50% under same usage.  At first I thought it’s the usual initial battery drain as the data/apps/etc get downloaded again - and, maybe this time, some AI stuff gets initialized with data on our phones, but it’s now day 8 - and battery use still hasn’t recovered on either of our phones.  Ergo, battery is worse - at least for us - on the new phones.
    I'm a bit disappointed too, coming from a 13 Pro. I remember just how much better my 13 Pro was over the X i had before. I think iOS is doing too much background stuff even though I have background refresh off.

    I wish Apple would add a feature to turn off cellular service entirely in certain locations. A big proportion of the battery is consumed by having no cellular service, and my wifi connection will always be better. I made a shortcut to turn on airplane mode when connected to particular wifi networks, but it doesn't work half the time, gets stuck in a weird loop of turning airplane mode on and off and spams me with a notification every_single_time. Which is another bugbear, I do not want to know every time a shortcut runs. Let me turn those notifications off. 
    retrogustoappleinsideruser
  • Reply 6 of 15
    retrogustoretrogusto Posts: 1,133member
    elijahg said:

    I wish Apple would add a feature to turn off cellular service entirely in certain locations. A big proportion of the battery is consumed by having no cellular service, and my wifi connection will always be better. I made a shortcut to turn on airplane mode when connected to particular wifi networks, but it doesn't work half the time, gets stuck in a weird loop of turning airplane mode on and off and spams me with a notification every_single_time. Which is another bugbear, I do not want to know every time a shortcut runs. Let me turn those notifications off. 
    These notifications have been annoying me too—it’s especially distracting since it vibrates my watch. Have you sent a feature request to Apple? I also have an automation that is supposed to toggle “always on” for my watch so it’s not lit up overnight, and that used to work perfectly but now it only works about one day out of ten. I wrote to Apple about it when it stopped working, about half a year ago, and asked them to include a feature in the OS that turns it off at bedtime and turns it on again when it sees that you’re awake in the morning, but so far they haven’t fixed the bug or included the feature. As a result, I almost never have the benefit of “always on,” because I’m too lazy to dig down in the settings twice a day. I bet I’m not the only one who doesn’t want their watch face glowing all night. 
    edited September 29 williamlondonelijahgwatto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 15
    M68000M68000 Posts: 855member
    longfang said:
    M68000 said:
    This is all well and good.  But,  I’m really disappointed by iOS 18 so far.  Initially,
    my iPhone 15 seemed okay but after a few days things seem slow on WiFi.  In general, there are a ton of reports about sluggish phones and non responsive screens. How could this have been approved for release???  Have been using iPhones since iPhone 1,  iOS 18 is likely the worst yet and the AI features are not even enabled for phones that support that.  Really looking forward to Apple to redeem itself and fix iOS 18.   iOS 17.7 was great and now I regret updating 

    I’m assuming the hectic pace of keeping up with Wall Street schedule expectations is putting real strain on the development teams.  Is that right @Tim Cook?  So,  your company releases a half baked OS version instead of waiting for it to be ready and better tested?  And, you are okay with that Tim ??  Would be curious to know how
    many people are in the QA team and how much hardware and variations have been tested OR not.  
    Otoh iOS 18 is running just fine for me on a 15 Pro. 
    You are lucky.  It seems to be hit or miss,  but there probably is common hardware involved causing it.  Perhaps it has something to do with WiFi also.  My friend shut off WiFi and said her phone works normally that way,
    instead of being sluggish. Hope they fix this soon.
    edited September 29 williamlondonwatto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 15
    appleinsideruserappleinsideruser Posts: 626member
    retrogusto said:
    elijahg said:

    I wish Apple would add a feature to turn off cellular service entirely in certain locations. A big proportion of the battery is consumed by having no cellular service, and my wifi connection will always be better. I made a shortcut to turn on airplane mode when connected to particular wifi networks, but it doesn't work half the time, gets stuck in a weird loop of turning airplane mode on and off and spams me with a notification every_single_time. Which is another bugbear, I do not want to know every time a shortcut runs. Let me turn those notifications off. 
    These notifications have been annoying me too—it’s especially distracting since it vibrates my watch. Have you sent a feature request to Apple? I also have an automation that is supposed to toggle “always on” for my watch so it’s not lit up overnight, and that used to work perfectly but now it only works about one day out of ten. I wrote to Apple about it when it stopped working, about half a year ago, and asked them to include a feature in the OS that turns it off at bedtime and turns it on again when it sees that you’re awake in the morning, but so far they haven’t fixed the bug or included the feature. As a result, I almost never have the benefit of “always on,” because I’m too lazy to dig down in the settings twice a day. I bet I’m not the only one who doesn’t want their watch face glowing all night. 
    Setup sleep mode! Then bedtime turns off always on, on phone and watch. Get up early? It notices and offers to cancel sleep mode. Easy! The feature is already there.

    Meanwhile, back at battery capacity. The reviews should use watt hours not (milli)amp hours. Capacity is about power not current — battery voltages might vary.
    Bart Ywatto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 15
    chasmchasm Posts: 3,536member
    saarek said:
    The latest Samsung S24 Ultra easily smashes the latest iPhones on battery life. It’s not even close. Check out the Mrwhosetheboss video comparing all the iPhones on battery life with the Samsung randomly chucked in.

    These are certainly top tier, but have a long way to go to get the crown.
    If you're getting your comparisons from **sponsored youtubers** to dispute a claim made by respected tech site **Tom's Guide**, you're a bit of a gullible fool.

    The iPhone 16 Pro Max beat the S24 Ultra. It's right there in the article if you'd just read it.
    ihatescreennamesBart Ybeowulfschmidtwatto_cobra
  • Reply 10 of 15
    Bart YBart Y Posts: 72unconfirmed, member
    twolf2919 said:
    Anecdotally - my wife and I upgraded from iPhone 15 Pro Maxes 8 days ago - the 16 Pro Max is actually doing worse.  Regularly now, by bed time our phones are 30% full whereas our 15 Pro Maxes were around 50% under same usage.  At first I thought it’s the usual initial battery drain as the data/apps/etc get downloaded again - and, maybe this time, some AI stuff gets initialized with data on our phones, but it’s now day 8 - and battery use still hasn’t recovered on either of our phones.  Ergo, battery is worse - at least for us - on the new phones.
    Check back in another week.  I’ve had systems take as long as 10-14 days to fully index on a newly restored iPhone, especially with a new iOS.  Also, check your display resolution, refresh and general power settings for app refreshes in background, fetch vs push, always on display, display brightness, and frequent use of graphically intensive or signal intensive apps like Maps, games, video (YouTube, Instagram, Tim Tim, etc.) that eat up power in the background unnecessarily.

    While I share your concerns, reports of battery drain occur EVERY TIME a new iOS version comes out and people upgrade old and new devices.  I suspect it takes up to two weeks, especially for those with lots of iCloud based apps, storage, and backed up data to digest and index.
    ihatescreennameswatto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 15
    saareksaarek Posts: 1,567member
    chasm said:
    saarek said:
    The latest Samsung S24 Ultra easily smashes the latest iPhones on battery life. It’s not even close. Check out the Mrwhosetheboss video comparing all the iPhones on battery life with the Samsung randomly chucked in.

    These are certainly top tier, but have a long way to go to get the crown.
    If you're getting your comparisons from **sponsored youtubers** to dispute a claim made by respected tech site **Tom's Guide**, you're a bit of a gullible fool.

    The iPhone 16 Pro Max beat the S24 Ultra. It's right there in the article if you'd just read it.

    I've always found Mrwhosetheboss to be very reliable, honest and unbiased. Remember that Tom's Guide makes money via advertisement and sponsorship too...

    Lot's of tech sites are picking the discrepancy up. It's not that Tom's Guide is wrong per se, on their tests the iPhone did indeed win. However, on other test scenarios designed to mock up real world usage, the Samsung usually comes out on top.

    https://bgr.com/tech/iphone-16-pro-max-loses-to-galaxy-s24-ultra-in-real-life-battery-test/

    edited September 30 ctt_zh
  • Reply 12 of 15
    beowulfschmidtbeowulfschmidt Posts: 2,323member
    Technology enthusiast site Tom's Guide has updated its rankings of battery life in popular smartphones for manufacturers' latest models. Its testing showed that the iPhone 16 Pro Max's battery, rated at 4685mAh, lasted for 18 hours and six minutes.
    These tests are obviously rigged.  Apple says the phone last 33 hours, so something is wrong. /s


    watto_cobra
  • Reply 13 of 15
    ITGUYINSDITGUYINSD Posts: 537member
    The actual chart of results show the iPhone 16 Pro Max came in 3rd place, not first place.  

    1. Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro: 18:48
    2. OnePlus 12R: 18:42
    Then 3rd place is the iPhone 16 Pro Max.  This story needs updating.
    edited September 30 ctt_zh
  • Reply 14 of 15
    apple4thewinapple4thewin Posts: 244member
    saarek said:
    The latest Samsung S24 Ultra easily smashes the latest iPhones on battery life. It’s not even close. Check out the Mrwhosetheboss video comparing all the iPhones on battery life with the Samsung randomly chucked in.

    These are certainly top tier, but have a long way to go to get the crown.
    Came to say the same thing 
    ctt_zh
  • Reply 15 of 15
    kamyk35kamyk35 Posts: 12member
    Mrwhosetheboss, did a real life test and the iPhone 16 Pro Max got beat by a S24 Ultra by approx an hour.
    So the 16 Pro Max whilst slightly improved, certainly doesn't beat all comers !
    BTW. I'm a big Apple fan not a droid bot
    ctt_zh
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