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iPhone 16 Battery Comparison: At Least 1+ Hour More for All Models

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With the iPhone 16 lineup, Apple has increased battery life for all models compared to the prior-generation iPhone 15 models. Battery life is up at least an hour for each device for video playback, with bigger increases for the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro Max.

iphone-16-pro-colors-1.jpg

Streaming video can be played for two to four hours longer depending on device, and the iPhone 16 Pro models also support longer audio playback. Note that in the comparison below, Apple lists the battery life as "up to" because the time the battery lasts will vary based on different usage habits.
  • iPhone 16 - 22 hours video playback, 18 hours streaming video, 80 hours audio.
  • iPhone 16 Plus - 27 hours video playback, 24 hours streaming video, 100 hours audio.
  • iPhone 16 Pro - 27 hours video playback, 22 hours streaming video, 85 hours audio.
  • iPhone 16 Pro Max - 33 hours video playback, 29 hours streaming video, 105 hours audio.
  • iPhone 15 - 20 hours video playback, 16 hours streaming video, 80 hours audio.
  • iPhone 15 Plus - 26 hours video playback, 20 hours streaming video, 100 hours audio.
  • iPhone 15 Pro - 23 hours video playback, 20 hours streaming video, 75 hours audio.
  • iPhone 15 Pro Max - 29 hours video playback, 25 hours streaming video, 95 hours audio.
Apple is emphasizing battery life gains this year, and product pages for the new devices have a menu for seeing how much more battery life the iPhone 16 models have compared to older devices. Upgrading from an iPhone 12 mini, for example, will get you a seven hour increase in battery life.

The iPhone 16 models support faster 25W MagSafe charging with one of Apple's new MagSafe chargers and a 30W power adapter or higher. It is the first time that fast charging has been available when charging wirelessly, and iPhone 16 users can expect to see a 50 percent charge in 30 minutes.

Qi2 charging is also supported, but that is limited to 15W, the same as the prior-generation MagSafe charging.

Article Link: iPhone 16 Battery Comparison: At Least 1+ Hour More for All Models
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2024/09/10/iphone-16-battery-comparison/
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This battery test shows nothing no one is just watching straight video all day or playing audio playback, they should start doing real world day-to-day use tests like all people use their iPhone every day scrolling social media, watching videos, having Bluetooth on with AirPods connected, playing video games, texting, video calling etc this test they doing by just playing audio and video is telling nothing.
 
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I would really love to know what settings result in these battery life quotes. I lean toward settings that promote better battery performance on my 14 Pro Max. I start the day at 100 and end around 10-20% with 6-8 hours of usage.
 
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"At least +1 hour more" is a misleading headline, IMO.

One extra hour in a 20 hour synthetic video paycheck benchmark is far from an extra hour in the normal use 8-10 hours battery life, which I doubt we’re getting (and Apple isn’t promising). So there’s no minimum improvement of 1h.

Better say something like: "Up to 1 or 2 hours extra"
 
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ctg7w6 said:
I would really love to know what settings result in these battery life quotes. I lean toward settings that promote better battery performance on my 14 Pro Max. I start the day at 100 and end around 10-20% with 6-8 hours of usage.
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Exactly. They are just testing it by playing video and the audio.
 
In the 15 lineup the regular Pro model had worse battery life than the regular 15 so I really don’t trust Apple‘s numbers anymore.

Gone are the days when they underplayed battery performance bsck I was the only person in my college classes to not have to bust out a charger in every seminar and lecture because my PowerBook 12 did actually last 4-5 hours…
 
mattw6789 said:
My 15 PM from day one, now a year in, is at 88% health and gets about 5.5 hrs of screen on time. So disappointing. I was planning on skipping this year, the only way I'd upgrade was if the battery truly lived up to the improvement
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I have the same problem with my 14 Pro.
Every time I take a long exposure shot (convert a Live Photo to a Long Exposure), it takes 1% lol

Surely I will benefit from the battery in the 16 Pro.
 
TMRJIJ said:
That's odd. Maybe check your Background App Activity...? My iPhone XR still gets 10 hours at 83% health.
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It's usually Instagram and Twitter exclusively taking up the most in Activity. I took it to Genius the first few months of ownership, on top of it feeling a bit warm, and they didn't find any issue without doing a clean reset (which I'm not doing. I already did one for at 12 PM at the time, so it's not like my backup is carrying too much old backup content)
 
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mattw6789 said:
It's usually Instagram and Twitter exclusively taking up the most in Activity. I took it to Genius the first few months of ownership, on top of it feeling a bit warm, and they didn't find any issue without doing a clean reset (which I'm not doing. I already did one for at 12 PM at the time, so it's not like my backup is carrying too much old backup content)
Click to expand...

Twitter's become a major battery pig in the last few months, unfortunately.
 
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Ameer_1 said:
What does it mean by 27-hour play back? I know my 15 Pro does not last 26 hours.
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My understanding is that if you have videos already stored on the phone (not streaming) then you can play them of 27 hours assuming you aren't doing anything else (especially online). And of course over time battery wear will lower how many hours you get.
 
Maybe this will silence all the people on this board who are fixated on battery health.
 
Marginal improvements that probably won’t be noticeable for most users. But just enough for Apple to say “Best iPhone battery life ever!!!” without lying.

Since my iPhone XR battery is at 79% and I typically 7-9 hours, it all sounds good to me 😊
 
Does it make through a normal day, yes or no. That's all I care about. My 13 Pro does, with 30-40% remaining, so I assume these would too.

I guess that isn't enough for the obsessed on here that track their battery health with a spreadsheet.
 
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