Key takeaways:The iPhone 17 Pro Max has excellent battery life that simply lasts all day with cost to spare.Our unique lab information exhibits you need not pay over a grand for wonderful battery life. The $829 iPhone 17’s battery lasts simply so long as the $1,099 iPhone 17 Pro.The ultrathin iPhone Air, with a modest battery capability, outlasted Samsung’s premium Galaxy S25 telephones. Battery life in an iPhone or Android telephone is every little thing — all of the neural processing and superior digicam options do not imply a lot in the event you’ve run out of battery energy. And after reviewing smartphones for over a decade, I’ve realized that longer battery life is the one characteristic individuals persistently need from their smartphones.When Apple launched the brand new iPhone 17 collection and iPhone Air, it spent appreciable time touting the longer battery lifetime of the iPhone 17, 17 Pro, and 17 Pro Max, as in comparison with their predecessors. My fellow CNET reviewers and I’ve now had the possibility to check these claims.When introducing the iPhone Air and its tremendous slim design, Apple confirmed a slide throughout its keynote stating that it has all-day battery life. However, the corporate undercut its declare on the following slide when it introduced a brand new MagSafe battery pack designed for the Air, which fed into fears {that a} thinner design would possibly point out a big sacrifice to battery life.Your telephone’s battery life is affected by a number of variables, like how vivid you retain your show or in case your telephone has a weak sign out of your provider. How you employ your telephone has a huge impact, too. Someone who’s obsessively on-line can have a a lot totally different expertise with their battery life than somebody who has their telephone of their bag at work and checks it on breaks.So, how are you aware whether or not the battery life is sweet on the iPhone Air and iPhone 17 collection?CNET examined the brand new Apple telephones’ battery life 3 ways: by means of an anecdotal stress check, a video streaming check and observing battery life after on a regular basis use. We additionally examined wired and wi-fi charging. Our lab information confirmed robust battery life for the iPhone 17, 17 Pro, 17 Pro Max and even the Air, particularly in comparison with older iPhone fashions.The iPhone 17 Pro Max has wonderful battery life The iPhone 17 Pro Max runs on Apple’s new A19 Pro chip, which, mixed with a vapor cooling chamber, iOS 26, and a big battery, permits the telephone to final a day on a single cost. Celso Bulgatti/CNETBigger batteries do not at all times imply superior battery life. There’s extra to battery life than the bodily measurement or capability. Besides Huawei, Apple is the one main smartphone maker that builds its personal {hardware} and software program and might tune its telephones to work off smaller batteries than most Android telephones have. The iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max have bigger batteries than final 12 months’s 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max. If you are utilizing an eSIM-only model of both telephone, just like the iPhone fashions bought within the US, your battery is even greater as a result of it takes up the area the place the SIM card tray could be.Frustratingly, Apple does not share the capability of the iPhone’s batteries, and a part of the reason being that its batteries are sometimes smaller than these in Android telephones. Fortunately, the EU requires that Apple publish vitality labels that embody the capability of its batteries on its website. Macrumors discovered the capacities for eSIM-only fashions. You can see how the brand new telephones’ batteries examine to those within the iPhone 16 collection:iPhone Air: 3,149 mAhiPhone 17: 3,692 mAhiPhone 17 Pro: 4,252 mAhiPhone 17 Pro Max: 5,088 mAhiPhone 16: 3,561 mAhiPhone 16 Plus: 4,674 mAhiPhone 16 Pro: 3,582 mAhiPhone 16 Pro Max: 4,685 mAhCNET has two benchmark assessments (video streaming and stress assessments) that permit us to check the battery efficiency of 1 telephone in opposition to one other. And as a result of we have been utilizing these assessments for years, we are able to additionally examine a brand new telephone in opposition to older fashions. For instance, when you have an iPhone 15 and are contemplating upgrading to an iPhone 17, we are able to let you know that the brand new iPhone can have an extended battery life out of the field than your outdated one.In CNET’s 3-hour video battery check, the place we streamed a video over Wi-Fi with the display at full brightness, the iPhone 17 collection did terrific, even when the outcomes weren’t dramatically higher than the iPhone 16 collection.Without a Plus mannequin this 12 months, the iPhone 17 Pro Max is the one mannequin with an enormous battery (the largest one ever in an iPhone), and it solely misplaced 9% within the check. The decrease the share misplaced, the higher. This is the primary time an iPhone stayed in single digits, and I ought to word that the 17 Pro Max tied the Motorola Razr (2024) for one of the best rating since we have been working the check. The Razr has a much less highly effective processor and a smaller primary display with a decrease decision and fewer brightness.The iPhone Air and 17 Pro dropped 15% within the check, the identical because the iPhone 15. And the iPhone 17 misplaced solely 11%, higher than the iPhone 15 and 16.Something to remember is that the iPhone 17 has a 6.3-inch display that helps a 1-120Hz variable refresh price and a max brightness of 3,000 nits, in comparison with the iPhone 15 and 16, which have a 6.1-inch show with a 60Hz refresh price and a max brightness of two,000 nits. Watch this: The iPhone 17 Pro Max Has Incredible Battery Life
12:10 The new Apple telephones did effectively in CNET’s 45-minute endurance check, throughout which I performed video games, streamed movies, scrolled social media and took a video name. The 17 Pro Max solely dropped a single p.c, one of the best consequence this 12 months, however behind the iPhone 16 Plus, which stayed at 100% (one of the best consequence for any telephone).The iPhone 17 and 17 Pro had the identical consequence, dropping 2%, making the usual iPhone 17 look much more like an unimaginable worth. The iPhone Air dropped 5%, which matches the iPhone 15 in the identical check. For perspective, the Air did higher on this check than the Samsung Galaxy S25 collection and tied with the Motorola Razr Ultra.The iPhone Air will get by means of a day The iPhone Air’s skinny design and lightweight weight are its primary appeals. But how a lot battery life might such a skinny telephone have? Joseph Maldonado/CNET/PCMagWhen we assessment telephones, we set them up as our day by day driver to make use of and check them like our private telephones. Real-world testing is usually one of the best indicator of what a reader can count on to get from a telephone.I began every day with a full battery for the iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max and tracked how a lot battery I had all through the day. I ended every day with loads of battery left — even after capturing photographs and movies or protecting the display at full brightness whereas filming the assessment video. Below is a chart that exhibits how the iPhone 17 Pro Max’s battery carried out for the primary 5 days I had it. Patrick Holland/CNETSimilarly, CNET senior know-how reporter Abrar Al-Heeti highlights that the iPhone Air she reviewed commonly ends the day with about 20% to spare (after beginning with a full battery). She mentioned it might drop under 20% on heavier-use days by the point she was prepared for mattress.”Impressively, the iPhone Air has consistently lasted all day over the last several weeks I’ve been using it,” Al-Heeti mentioned. “But I’ve hardly had to touch that MagSafe battery pack to extend battery life during the day, which is reassuring.” Apple’s promoting a $99 MagSafe battery accent for the iPhone Air. Apple/Screenshot by CNETIn our testing, a fully-charged MagSafe battery added 69% to the iPhone Air’s battery. When I requested her whether or not she’d suggest individuals purchase the $99 MagSafe Battery for the Air, Al-Heeti mentioned that she recommends it for somebody who makes use of their telephone usually and does not need to hunt for an outlet.”I don’t like the idea of having to lug around an extra battery, no matter how thin or sleek it is, so I don’t tend to carry it with me unless I know I’m going to have a long day away from home,” Al-Heeti mentioned.She additionally reviewed the usual iPhone 17 and mentioned it could actually simply final a bit of over a day, even after snapping photographs, scrolling by means of social media, listening to audiobooks and music, texting and watching movies.Al-Heeti’s assessment notes that over a number of days, she’d begin with a full battery, between 8:30 and 9:30 a.m., and have 44% to 47% of a cost 12 hours later. If she did not recharge the iPhone 17 in a single day, she’d nonetheless have about 30% to spare the following morning.The iPhone 17 collection expenses quick Here are the brand new iPhone fashions (from left to proper): iPhone 17, iPhone Air, iPhone 17 Pro Max and iPhone 17 Pro. Patrick Holland/CNETThere are two methods to cost an iPhone: with a cable or with MagSafe (except it is the iPhone 16E, which does not have MagSafe, simply Qi charging). For wired charging, Apple recommends utilizing a 40W charger with the iPhone 17, 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max and a 20W charger for the iPhone Air. However, Apple does not embody a charger within the field, only a USB-C cable, however the firm does promote a 40W charger for $39 and a 20W charger for $19.In our 30-minute wired charging check, the brand new telephones, together with the Air, did effectively. The iPhone 17, 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max added 10% or greater than the iPhone 16, 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max in the identical check. Apple says the 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max can recharge to 50% in 20 minutes. In our assessments, the iPhone 17 Pro hit 53% and the iPhone 17 Pro Max hit 49% after 20 minutes.The iPhone Air reached 49% in our 30-minute charging check with a 20W adapter, the identical because the iPhone 16 and iPhone 15 Pro, beating the iPhone 15 Plus.In wi-fi charging or MagSafe charging, we ran a 30-minute check with the most recent MagSafe charger and a 30W energy adapter. The iPhone 17 collection and Air beat each iPhone we have ever examined besides the iPhone 16 Pro, which did higher than the Air and normal iPhone 17. I ought to word that iPhones do not include a MagSafe charger or 30W adapter within the field.Which iPhone do you have to purchase based mostly on CNET Labs information? Apple’s 2025 lineup is made up of iPhone fashions aimed to attraction to totally different individuals. Patrick Holland/CNETGet the iPhone 17 Pro Max if you’d like one of the best battery life. The normal iPhone 17 has nice battery life and inches out the costlier iPhone 17 Pro. And in the event you’re on Team Air, know that the battery life is not nice, however relying on how arduous you employ it, it is best to get by means of a day on a single cost.I also needs to word that iOS 26 has a brand new Adaptive Power mode. This characteristic learns your telephone’s use patterns and “adapts” how a lot energy the processor makes use of for particular duties, so it attracts much less from the battery. The new characteristic takes per week to begin working. I turned it on after working CNET’s battery assessments and can replace this story with any adjustments or enhancements that come from it.Last, when you have an iPhone and the one problem is that its battery does not cost as a lot because it used to, take into consideration changing it with a brand new one. Doing so is not going to solely be lots of of {dollars} cheaper than a brand new iPhone, however it could actually lengthen your telephone’s life one other couple of years.
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