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iPhone 15 Lineup Rumored to Feature Significantly Larger Batteries [Updated]

JulianL said:
I'm finding that across the one year lifetime of my phones (I tend to upgrade every year) the battery life is very variable even with my battery health still at 100% on my launch-day 14 Pro Max.

I know it doesn't happen to everybody, and maybe only a few, but recently I've found iOS 16.x.x upgrades to be pretty disruptive in terms of battery life. For instance I updated to 16.5.1 over a week ago, which should be enough time for indexing and other unusual post-update processing to complete, yet I noticed last night that my phone lost 25% of its battery life overnight and I have automations set up to put it into low power and airplane mode for 8 hours every night and that that 25% loss was over the 8 hours when my phone was in low power and airplane mode the whole time. The battery reporting is not showing any apps using excessive resources so it was presumably down to something screwy that happened in the OS somewhere last night that didn't happened on previous nights.

In line with a post I made earlier today it's all very well Apple putting in bigger batteries (if the rumour is indeed true) but its iOS development team really should take a long hard look at itself and try and find and eliminate the causes of aberrant battery drain like this because it makes it hard to know day-to-day how your battery is going to perform even with quite light and predictable usage patterns.
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Agreed. Either lock down the background CPU processing and make it perfect OR give us a battery usage activity monitor that allows us to figure out what the cause is.

When I set up a new phone, due to the data I have on them these days (200-300GB) - I've noticed it takes 2-3 days now for the usage to settle down.

And due to my light usage, I've had only a few instances over the last 3-4 years where the battery drain was excessive and the Battery usage graph showing nothing - usually a Volume Up + Volume Down + Hold Power fixed it.
 
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I have a 12 Pro Max right now. I'm a pale weakling who sits in the dark writing code all day, and it really is not that heavy... to the point that I would happily add a few grams for longer battery life. The iPhone 14 Pro Max is 12g heavier; if the 15 Pro Max is the same weight but has a more efficient SoC and slightly more capacious battery, it's an easy sell for me.
 
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black_knight said:
There is no such thing as solutions, only trade-offs.
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Sure, but there are sensible trade-offs and illogical ones.

I've never met ANYONE who said, "You know what sucks about my cellphone? The battery life is too long! I'd rather charge it more often!"

Meanwhile, you've got Apple who largely under the oversight of Ives was fixated on making every device as thin and light as possible. Now, I think all we're seeing is more of an understanding that you can add a few centimeters of thickness back to the products if doing so gives concrete improvements to such things as battery life or cooling capabilities, or ability to add more ports to machines. It's a very good trade-off.
 
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Seriously, they should make them lighter. They pull my pants down. I think apple should also make a plastic iPhone.
 
JulianL said:
I'm finding that across the one year lifetime of my phones (I tend to upgrade every year) the battery life is very variable even with my battery health still at 100% on my launch-day 14 Pro Max.

I know it doesn't happen to everybody, and maybe only a few, but recently I've found iOS 16.x.x upgrades to be pretty disruptive in terms of battery life. For instance I updated to 16.5.1 over a week ago, which should be enough time for indexing and other unusual post-update processing to complete, yet I noticed last night that my phone lost 25% of its battery life overnight and I have automations set up to put it into low power and airplane mode for 8 hours every night and that that 25% loss was over the 8 hours when my phone was in low power and airplane mode the whole time. The battery reporting is not showing any apps using excessive resources so it was presumably down to something screwy that happened in the OS somewhere last night that didn't happened on previous nights.

In line with a post I made earlier today it's all very well Apple putting in bigger batteries (if the rumour is indeed true) but its iOS development team really should take a long hard look at itself and try and find and eliminate the causes of aberrant battery drain like this because it makes it hard to know day-to-day how your battery is going to perform even with quite light and predictable usage patterns.
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I think iOS has reached that point where it probably does need some pruning and optimization. After 16 versions, its become a huge complex software. Windows XP (NT Kernel) was just 8 years old at the time at its launch, iOS is 16 years old. Apple does do a good job when it comes to removing code thats no longer relevant like 32 bit support. But maybe there are some routines in iOS at this point that are not taking full advantage of the silicon. When you reach a point where its about delivering features for several older models and also functionality specific to the latest flag ship models, something ends up suffering along the way.
 
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nfl46 said:
Lol at the update.
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Hook, line, and sinker.

"Sure, these double digit increases sound legit..."

For those wondering, iPhone SE3 which received new battery chemistry, only got a 12% increase. The numbers we see in this leak are unlikely.
 
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If the 4,912 mAh battery on the iPhone 15 Plus are true, I am definitely getting one. I'd like to not having to use a battery protective case or a MagSafe battery pack on the iPhone 15 Plus.
 
Mr. Dee said:
If you use your smart phone in a healthy way, battery life should last you all day. Users who complain about battery dropping to 91% already, it’s likely you are using the device a little bit too much. Yes, I realize a smart phone can be the only computer for many. But usage should be contextual. I use a variety of communication tools throughout the day, desktop computer, laptop, phone, in person communication.

My iPhone X at 78% battery health last me a day if I don’t push it too much. Those days when it doesn’t, it’s because I’m on social media apps a bit too much.
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I would agree with this. I would also add context for why I am moving from my 13 Pro to the 15 Pro Max. I start internal medicine residency next July, and over the past 2 years I’ve spent a considerable amount of time with residents to see what a day looks like for them, especially on inpatient services. Residents use their phones all the time. Outside of patient rooms, at bed side, even in the work rooms. We have access to our EHR/EMR and having the larger display while walking around is also a big bonus. It’s purely a want for me, I can admit that, but I feel the increased size and weight offer me a better experience for what I want.
 
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Considering how popular the regular iPhone 11 and 13 were, I’d expect the regular iPhone 15 to be extremely popular due to this and USB-C charging.
 
dampfnudel said:
I would be really surprised if Apple uses plastic again in phones or laptops. Apple wants premium material to justify premium prices.
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Then they're going to be heavier than need be. That's their choice, of course, but I don't have to like it.

I'm not so sure plastic/carbon fiber is not premium though -- I know I like my Thinkpad X13 an awful lot and it's lighter than an MBA. Metal just screams heavy to me, not premium.
 
bobcomer said:
Then they're going to be heavier than need be. That's their choice, of course, but I don't have to like it.

I'm not so sure plastic/carbon fiber is not premium though -- I know I like my Thinkpad X13 an awful lot and it's lighter than an MBA. Metal just screams heavy to me, not premium.
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I do think that a massive win for Apple would be if its materials scientists could come up with some replacement for the glass back that still looked premium enough to satisfy Apple's desire to look ultra premium but also was a lot lighter and, critically, allowed for wireless charging.

Maybe my most memorable iPhone moment ever was when, as a launch day iPhone 4 owner who was deeply suspicious of the recently released iPhone 5 because of its bigger size(!), I went into an Apple store to see the 5 in person. When I picked it up I was totally amazed at how light it felt vs my 4. The weight difference was (is) 112g vs 137g for the iPhone 4 and maybe that difference was amplified in my mind because, being a bigger device, I was subconsciously preparing myself for the iPhone 5 being heavier so when I actually picked it up it almost felt weightless. I remember that experience to this day.

I'm pretty sure that the iPhone 5 weight loss vs the 4 was mostly down to a switch from the 4's glass to the 5's aluminium back, an option not open to Apple anymore since wireless charging is now a requirement (and I think that takes carbon fibre out of the picture as well doesn't it?). But if Apple could come up with some sort of super-premium-looking plastic finish for the back, or find some way to laminate a much thinner piece of glass onto a suitable backing to reduce weight a lot but maintain robustness, or use the logo on the back as the only charging location so that most of the back could revert to metal (probably not a good idea because it would make things very tricky or even impossible to charge with a standard non-Magsafe charger and the consequences of misaligning the phone with the charger might be messy) that could allow it to noticeably reduce the weight particularly of the Max models (they have the biggest backs) a lot.

Personally I'd still like to see some of that weight reduction used up for a bigger battery but that's just me; I do realise that other people would want Apple to that entire weight saving to reduce the overall weight of the device. If Apple could manage to come up with some materials science innovation for the back of the device though at least it would be in a position to decide how to exploit the benefit.
 
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JulianL said:
(and I think that takes carbon fibre out of the picture as well doesn't it?)
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All carbon fibre, yes, it would. Some parts would have to be just plastic or something like aramid fibre. (like Kevlar)

I remember the 5's difference too. Heck, I'd take a 5 now if it supported modern apps and could connect to the cell networks of today. I know I still have my 5 in a box somewhere. :). Super light compared to anything today unless you get a dumb flip phone.
 
Christoffee said:
If Apple did a slim phone with less battery life (the type we all used to moan about) or a thicker phone with more battery life (the type we moan about now), which would you choose?
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Thicker with bigger battery. Using titanium will reduce weight so more battery is good
 
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FaustsHausUK said:
I have a 12 Pro Max right now. I'm a pale weakling who sits in the dark writing code all day, and it really is not that heavy... to the point that I would happily add a few grams for longer battery life. The iPhone 14 Pro Max is 12g heavier; if the 15 Pro Max is the same weight but has a more efficient SoC and slightly more capacious battery, it's an easy sell for me.
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That’s the thing, sitting at a desk what does it matter?

I’m outside for work a good deal, adding weight and 90 degree edges (should have stayed with the curved X design) in my pockets sucks, plus it prints and looks silly

The only thing as someone who doesn’t run a case, I really don’t want to go back to soft metals, though I don’t drop my phone much having stainless is great, few times I have dropped it I would have had a scrape or gouge had it been aluminum or titanium

Honestly if they made a pro in the form factor of the X but size of the 4 with edge to edge screen, I’d be all over that
 
InvertedGoldfish said:
That’s the thing, sitting at a desk what does it matter?

I’m outside for work a good deal, adding weight and 90 degree edges (should have stayed with the curved X design) in my pockets sucks, plus it prints and looks silly

The only thing as someone who doesn’t run a case, I really don’t want to go back to soft metals, though I don’t drop my phone much having stainless is great, few times I have dropped it I would have had a scrape or gouge had it been aluminum or titanium

Honestly if they made a pro in the form factor of the X but size of the 4 with edge to edge screen, I’d be all over that
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I do leave the house too (I walk my puppy 2-3 times a day and have a social life), I was more pointing out how pasty and weak I am. Nothing like field work though! For that reason I’m glad they offer iPhones in a range of sizes.
 
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InvertedGoldfish said:
That’s the thing, sitting at a desk what does it matter?

I’m outside for work a good deal, adding weight and 90 degree edges (should have stayed with the curved X design) in my pockets sucks, plus it prints and looks silly

The only thing as someone who doesn’t run a case, I really don’t want to go back to soft metals, though I don’t drop my phone much having stainless is great, few times I have dropped it I would have had a scrape or gouge had it been aluminum or titanium

Honestly if they made a pro in the form factor of the X but size of the 4 with edge to edge screen, I’d be all over that
Click to expand...
Titanium can be pretty tough if they want it to be... I'm also extremely happy to have a steel edged phone instead of soft aluminium, especially the junk aluminium that Apple used on iPhones that would always pit in hot high humidity countries.
 
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