November 20, 2025, 7:17 am | Read time: 3 minutes
The iPhone 17 Pro Max is the first Apple smartphone with a battery capacity of more than 5,000 milliampere hours (mAh)—at least in the U.S. However, that doesn’t seem to be enough for the company. According to recent leaks, an iPhone is planned for 2026 with a battery as large as 6,000 mAh.
A completely new iPhone is expected for 2026, joining the Pro models but with a twist—or rather a fold: the iPhone Fold. Apple’s first foldable device is set to establish several benchmarks. In addition to a completely new under-display camera, the Fold could feature a massive battery that makes the competition look outdated.
iPhone Fold with Record Battery?
On the Korean blog platform Naver, the well-known leaker yeux1122 released new information about the development status of the iPhone Fold’s battery. Reportedly, Apple is currently testing a capacity between 5,400 and 5,800 mAh. However, this may not be the final value.
The leaker points out that the iPhone Air initially had a lower capacity of 2,850 to 3,000 mAh in test runs. As predicted, the Air launched with a 3,149 mAh battery. It’s quite possible that Apple is initially considering conservative numbers for the iPhone Fold, but may ultimately increase the capacity.
According to portals like “9To5Mac,” this could mean the battery reaches up to 6,000 mAh. Currently, only two foldable smartphones actually have such a large battery: the Vivo X Fold 5 with 6,000 mAh and the Honor Magic V5 with 5,820 mAh. Apple’s biggest competitor for the iPhone Fold is likely to be Samsung’s Z-Fold series. However, the current Galaxy Z Fold 7 comes with just 4,400 mAh capacity.
Also interesting: Is Apple’s New iPhone Charger Finally Coming to Germany?
Larger Display as a Challenge
The jump from nearly 5,000 mAh in the iPhone 17 Pro Max to 6,000 mAh may seem huge. However, the iPhone Fold is expected to come with an inner display that measures 7.58 inches diagonally, according to “The Elec.” Of all smartphone components, the display requires the most power–and the larger it is, the higher the consumption.
While the outer display is reportedly only 5.38 inches, which could reduce battery consumption when mainly used in the closed state, Apple apparently wants to prepare the Fold for long runtimes—no matter how it’s used.
I Am Hopeful
“The iPhone Fold increasingly looks like a potential successor to my iPhone 15 Pro Max. I still long for the compact size of my iPhone 13 mini. The Fold is supposed to be as large as the mini when closed, which strikes a chord with me. If the rumors about the massive battery prove true, I might have to take out a loan to afford the foldable smartphone…”