July 4, 2025, 10:27 am | Read time: 3 minutes
With the iPhone 16 Pro Max, Apple has improved the battery life of its high-end smartphone for the first time in years. This enhancement is primarily due to a larger battery, alongside a more efficient chip. The upcoming iPhone 17 Pro Max is expected to further increase its capacity.
iPhones traditionally have smaller batteries than Android smartphones–with comparable runtime. The reason is the more efficient hardware that consumes less power. However, power-hungry gaming, which is becoming increasingly popular on smartphones, is putting more strain on the batteries. As a result, Android devices now often have capacities beyond the 5,000 milliampere-hour (mAh) mark. For the iPhone 17 Pro Max, Apple is reportedly planning a similarly large battery.
Over 300 Milliampere-Hours More Capacity
In the runtime test, the iPhone 16 Pro Max beats the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra–despite having a smaller built-in battery (4,676 mAh vs. 5,000 mAh). To remain at the top with the iPhone 17 Pro Max, Apple is likely to further increase the battery capacity. Over five generations, it has increased by nearly 27 percent–from 3,687 mAh in the iPhone 12 to the current value.
The relatively well-known leaker “Instant Digital” shared details about the battery size in the new iPhone flagship on the Chinese blog Weibo. According to this, the iPhone 17 Pro Max is expected to be equipped with a 5,000-mAh battery. This would be a significant increase compared to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, representing about 7 percent more capacity.
Already in March of this year, the well-informed leaker “Ice Universe“–also on Weibo–posted about the case size of the iPhone 17 Pro Max. It is expected to grow from 8.25 mm in the 16 Pro Max to 8.725 mm in thickness. Even then, this was considered an indicator that Apple would use the additional space for a larger battery.
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Apple states a battery life of 33 hours for the iPhone 16 Pro Max. This is the first increase since the iPhone 14 Pro Max, which was still limited to 29 hours. With the largest battery in iPhone history, the 17 Pro Max promises even more endurance.
According to “MacRumors,” it is conceivable that the device could run for 35 hours or longer on a single charge due to improvements in energy efficiency in the A19 Pro chip and the new Snapdragon X80 modem.
The giant battery in the iPhone 17 Pro Max stands in stark contrast to the also-expected ultra-thin iPhone 17 Air, set for release in fall 2025. This model is expected to come with a capacity of only 2,800 mAh–significantly less than all current iPhone models offer. However, the demand for smartphones that sacrifice battery capacity for thinner cases seems to be lower than manufacturers had anticipated. At least Samsung had to realize this with the Galaxy S25 Edge, which apparently fell significantly short of sales expectations.