Does the iPhone 18 Pro Max really have 'the largest increase in battery life ever'? Our lab tests results are in —here's how it compares
Apple is promising "the largest increase in battery life ever" on an iPhone this year, but does that match up with reality?
Our recent lab tests provide insight into how the battery life of Apple's latest iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max models compares to their 17 Pro predecessors. While Apple claims significant increases in battery life, particularly for the Pro Max model, the actual results are somewhat mixed. Both the iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max have larger capacity batteries (4,056 mAh and 5,391 mAh respectively) than their predecessors, but the real-world performance is only modestly better.
During our standard test where the devices cycle through websites until the battery depletes, the iPhone 18 Pro lasted 16 hours and 17 minutes, a 6% improvement over the 15 hours and 21 minutes of the iPhone 17 Pro. The iPhone 18 Pro Max, with an 18 hours and 27 minute battery life, represents a 3% increase over the 17 hours and 54 minutes of the iPhone 17 Pro Max.
These improvements, while welcome, aren't as dramatic as Apple suggests based on their own video playback benchmarks. Apple states that the iPhone 18 Pro Max offers 45 hours of video playback versus 39 hours on the 17 Pro Max, a 15% increase. However, this benefit is likely limited to specific scenarios like uninterrupted video watching.
Apple cautions that actual battery life varies based on network configuration, usage patterns, and settings. The company also notes that battery health declines over time with each charge cycle. In summary, the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max do deliver better battery life compared to their predecessors, but the gains fall short of the impressive increases Apple has been advertising.
Written by urgent.news from TechRadar's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
