iPhone 16e 15 Pro v 16e Battery Results

[okkibs]

It’s already been mentioned that this is comparing apples to oranges in regards to different battery health and the fact that they aren’t even running the stable OS version. I’d like to add that it’s even worse because you’re comparing cheap hardware with a flagship device. The 16e uses an old screen that in its first iteration was introduced in 2020 on the 12 pro and is virtually identical to that of the iPhone 13. It’s upcycled old tech. It’s good you’re getting more use out of the 16e but what good does that do anyone who is stuck with an iPhone Pro with worse battery who needs promotion and all the other features the budget iPhone doesn’t have?

Who buys a 15 Pro just to downgrade to a 16e a mere 2 years later??? Why even buy a 15 Pro in the first place if a cheap entry level device was all they needed?

It’s a weird comparison… and we haven’t learned anything new either. Of course the 16e has great battery life, we know that since it’s been released months ago.

 

[James6s]

I had a 16e for 4 months before doing an early upgrade to a 16 Pro.

The battery life on the 16e was significantly better than my current 16 Pro, the 16e having a larger battery and less power hungry features, cameras, 120hz promotion etc…. So I’m not surprised it has better battery life than the 15 Pro, which has an even smaller battery than my 16 Pro.

16 Pro 3582mAh
16e 4005mAh

I’m really enjoying the 16 Pro and the extra features especially the camera system. The only downside is the battery life.

 

[FeliApple]

I had a 16e for 4 months before doing an early upgrade to a 16 Pro.

The battery life on the 16e was significantly better than my current 16 Pro, the 16e having a larger battery and less power hungry features, cameras, 120hz promotion etc…. So I’m not surprised it has better battery life than the 15 Pro, which has an even smaller battery than my 16 Pro.

16 Pro 3582mAh
16e 4005mAh

I’m really enjoying the 16 Pro and the extra features especially the camera system. The only downside is the battery life.

I find battery life on every iPhone since the Xʀ amazing, more than sufficient. Is it truly a downside for you? Would you require more? How heavy of a user are you?

I’ve found that people who play heavy games and/or are heavy social media users are the only ones that would get any near-current iPhone to drop enough so as to need a recharge by the end of day without alternatives (that is, say, a 100-15% drop in one day).

I’m curious because as a light user, the heaviest days of my 16 Plus see me end the day with something like 80% after 6 hours of SOT. I’m unusually efficient, but still. Typically, I finish the day with something closer to 90%. Even ridiculously heavy camera days have seen me drop the 16 Plus to something like 70-75%, and that’s always been my heaviest usage pattern.

This has been the case since my Xʀ on iOS 12. After heavy camera days, I’d end the day with 50%. That’s my heaviest usage pattern, I’ve never been anywhere close to running out of battery.

 

[James6s]

I find battery life on every iPhone since the Xʀ amazing, more than sufficient. Is it truly a downside for you? Would you require more? How heavy of a user are you?

I’ve found that people who play heavy games and/or are heavy social media users are the only ones that would get any near-current iPhone to drop enough so as to need a recharge by the end of day without alternatives (that is, say, a 100-15% drop in one day).

I’m curious because as a light user, the heaviest days of my 16 Plus see me end the day with something like 80% after 6 hours of SOT. I’m unusually efficient, but still. Typically, I finish the day with something closer to 90%. Even ridiculously heavy camera days have seen me drop the 16 Plus to something like 70-75%, and that’s always been my heaviest usage pattern.

This has been the case since my Xʀ on iOS 12. After heavy camera days, I’d end the day with 50%. That’s my heaviest usage pattern, I’ve never been anywhere close to running out of battery.

I average around 8-9hrs of screen on time per day, so is that classed as heavy usage? I’m quite heavy in social media but no games, and also I take lots of photos some days and the battery takes a big hit.

I usually charge to the 95% limit each morning, and how far the battery drops obviously depends on what I’m doing that day. Once it gets down to 25-30% I’ll give it a quick top up early evening back up to 50%, I try to avoid deep discharges.

I say it’s a downside but the extra features on the 16 Pro vs the 16e are worth that trade off of having to give it a top up charge later in the day.

 

[FeliApple]

I average around 8-9hrs of screen on time per day, so is that classed as heavy usage? I’m quite heavy in social media but no games, and also I take lots of photos some days and the battery takes a big hit.

I usually charge to the 95% limit each morning, and how far the battery drops obviously depends on what I’m doing that day. Once it gets down to 25-30% I’ll give it a quick top up early evening back up to 50%, I try to avoid deep discharges.

I say it’s a downside but the extra features on the 16 Pro vs the 16e are worth that trade off of having to give it a top up charge later in the day.

I misspoke above. I said “the heaviest days of my 16 Plus”. I would say it should say “most extensive”.

You see, I don’t think “heavy” equals “many hours”. You can use your iPhone for 23 hours a day and be a light user, as I see it, at least when discussing battery life.

The most important number is screen-on time. How “good” that number is depends solely on the battery drain intensity of your usage, not how many hours.

If you use your iPhone (say, for comparison, a 16 Plus) for one hour of SOT per day and end up with 85% because it’s an hour of full brightness camera and gaming, you’re a ridiculously heavy user. I can use my 16 Plus for almost 10 hours in a day and end up with 68%, simply because my tasks are that much lighter. In my consideration, you’re a heavy user and I’m a light user, even though you use the phone for one hour and I use it 10 hours a day.

So, a heavy social media and camera user is a heavy user for me, whether you use it one hour or 21 hours. The 16 Pro would be able to give you at least three days of usage if you weren’t as heavy of a user with 8 hours of SOT. 8 hours of SOT for 95-25% and then 50% to presumably some percentage point below that is… what? 80-90% of battery consumption in a day after 8 hours? So, starting from 100% like me you’d end up with about 10% in 8 hours for a full cycle SOT of about 9-10 hours (100-0%)?

Yeah, that’s heavy.

 

[okkibs]

the extra features on the 16 Pro vs the 16e are worth that trade off of having to give it a top up charge later in the day.

Precisely - one cannot have it both ways and get the flagship hardware and the exceptional battery life. That's why you got cheap budget phones topping the battery life stats. It's no coincidence the 16e is the only iPhone in the lineup that's missing Magsafe either. (The reason is that the space for the magsafe component is taken by the larger battery and increasing the thickness of the entire iPhone would have required a redesign instead of reusing old iPhone 13 parts.)

The good news is that you can have your cake and eat it too: Anker just released the "nano 5k MagGo slim" power bank that's barely thicker than the camera island and can do just a single charge for a total of roughly 55-60%. Since I have already tested it for a couple days now I can tell you the magnet is strong enough that there's no chance of it coming off when you put it in your jeans pocket. I basically just put it on and leave it there so it keeps trickle charging. Probably worse for the wireless charging efficiency but it's convenient.

The downside is that it temporarily heats up the iPhone if you're out in the summer heat. We all know iPhones have a tough time in 100 degree weather as is.

 

[BigMcGuire]

My iPhone 15 Pro Max tipped the scale of a device that just feels too heavy in the hand to use comfortably for long periods of time. If I pick up a 15 Pro, it feels significantly better in my hand and I can use it for hours far more comfortably - I actually want to use it. Also, the 15 Pro doesn't pull down my shorts as I walk... However, the screen on the 15 Pro Max and the battery life - is why I went with the Pro Max.

I would NEVER recommend anyone NOT upgrading the operating system to "save battery life" in this day and age where exploits are a dime a dozen. I have always updated the OS and never found a way to support the idea that you get so much better battery life by not updating. Turn on: Reduce Transparency. Turn On: Reduce Motion - that'll turn off a lot of GPU computation for those smooth window slide ins and transfers. Turn on: Prefer Cross-Fade Transitions. Turn off features you don't think you'll use - such as Handoff. That'll save battery DESPITE being on the most secure, latest OS. Limit Frame Rate to 60 if battery life matters that much to you. You can get a Plus like experience with a Pro Max battery and not be insecure. I find turning off notifications entirely for apps to save tons of battery life.

I have batteries all over my desk. I bring some to work. Buy a cable you really like (6ft braided L cables are awesome for reading). I prefer my car's USB C cable to the wireless charging for heat reasons.

But yeah... most people I've talked to who make battery life king are also people who do things on their phones that use 8x more battery than I do. That's their choice, but a small change in behavior (whatever that might be) may give them far more battery than not updating the OS.


I set my 15 Pro Max to 80% charge, leave it plugged in as much as I can. Keeps it cool, keeps charge cycles off the battery, and has done me pretty good (almost 2 years down and still 102-103% battery health).