iPhone 16e's Battery Capacity Revealed in Real-World Battery Life Test

[MacRumors]

In its announcement video for the iPhone 16e, Apple said the device features a new internal design that allowed for a larger battery.

Apple does not publicly advertise mAh battery capacities for iPhones. In his iPhone 16e review video today, however, Dave Lee of the YouTube channel Dave2D said the device is equipped with a 3,961 mAh battery. That is more than a 10% increase in battery capacity compared to the regular iPhone 16 model's 3,561 mAh battery, provided that the iPhone 16e's battery voltage remains the typical 3.85V.

• iPhone 16 Pro Max: 4,685 mAh
• iPhone 16 Pro: 3,582 mAh
• iPhone 16 Plus: 4,674 mAh
• iPhone 16: 3,561 mAh
• iPhone 16e: 3,961 mAh

Update: A teardown has revealed that the iPhone 16e has a 4,005 mAh battery capacity instead.

Apple says the iPhone 16e offers the longest battery life of any 6.1-inch iPhone ever, in part due to Apple's new power-efficient C1 modem.

How is the iPhone 16e's real-world battery life?

Lee evaluated the iPhone 16e's battery life with a test that continuously loads the Reddit website over Wi-Fi, and he found that the device achieved 12 hours and 54 minutes of battery life for this purpose. In the same test, the regular iPhone 16 lasted 11 hours and 17 minutes, so the iPhone 16e was the clear winner in this particular test.

iPhone 16e battery life test by Dave2D​

Tom's Guide also tested the iPhone 16e's battery life in a different way, and the device achieved similar results as the regular iPhone 16:

In running Tom's Guide's battery benchmark test, the iPhone 16e puts up an average time of 12 hours and 41 minutes. That's only a couple of minutes shorter than the iPhone 16's average of 12 hours and 43 minutes. However, the best times recorded on both phones are 12 hours and 49 minutes for the iPhone 16e, and 13 hours and 19 minutes with the iPhone 16.

The website said its test "runs a script that simulates normal web surfing over cellular until the battery's depleted."

More on the iPhone 16e's battery life from CNET's Patrick Holland:

I've had the 16E for six days and only had to charge it three times. I used a 30-watt wall charger, and the 16E went from empty to 59% in 30 minutes. And I've been using the phone heavily, testing the cameras, running Apple Intelligence tools and playing graphics intensive games.

The iPhone 16E can definitely make it through a day on a single charge and, depending on how you use it, it'll likely make it through a day and a half before needing to be plugged in.

In CNET's video streaming battery test with the battery charged to 100%, the iPhone 16E didn't drop a single percent after an hour. Compare that to the iPhone 16 and iPhone 15, each of which dropped to 97% after an hour in the same test. I have more battery tests to run, but so far the iPhone 16E has a great battery life.

Here is Lee's review:

Apple is currently accepting iPhone 16e pre-orders, and the device launches on Friday. Read our iPhone 16e review roundup to learn more.

Article Link: iPhone 16e's Battery Capacity Revealed in Real-World Battery Life Test

 

[I7guy]

Better battery life is always "better". Waiting for Friday to see the real reviews.

 

[JPack]

Apple does publish battery capacity specs in their compliance docs.

Apple marketing materials make it sound like the C1 is doing the heavy lifting. According to Apple specs, the battery capacity was increased by 12% (Wh rating) compared to iPhone 16.

For every 1% increase, the video streaming battery life tends to increase by 1.3% to 1.4%. This is similar to what we saw with iPhone 15 to iPhone 16. C1 isn't magic. Apple just added more battery to the 16e because it doesn't have a second rear camera.

https://chemtrec.blob.core.windows.net/criterion/APIS_BPIS_Current.pdf

Legal - Global Trade Compliance - Apple

www.apple.com

 

[Nozuka]

„Lee evaluated the iPhone 16e's battery life with a test that continuously loads the Reddit website over Wi-Fi“

Because who would want to test the efficiency of the c1 chip..

 

[Joe Rossignol]

Apple does publish battery capacity specs in their compliance docs.

Apple marketing materials make it sound like the C1 is doing the heavy lifting. According to Apple specs, the battery capacity was increased by 12% (Wh rating) compared to iPhone 16.

For every 1% increase, the video streaming battery life tends to increase by 1.3% to 1.4%. This is similar to what we saw with iPhone 15 to iPhone 16. C1 isn't magic. Apple just added more battery to the 16e because it doesn't have a second rear camera.

View attachment 2486350

https://chemtrec.blob.core.windows.net/criterion/APIS_BPIS_Current.pdf

Legal - Global Trade Compliance - Apple

www.apple.com

Yes, in Wh. The article correctly states that "Apple does not publicly advertise mAh battery capacities for iPhones."

 

[Chidoro]

Apparently, a camera lens and magnets take up space in a chassis.

 

[iGüey]

Can someone tell me why this guy Dave Lee (Dave2D) didn’t take account of 16 Pro in his comparison??

 

[Aeronauts]

Can someone tell me why these people didn’t take account of 16 Pro for this comparison??

If you can afford the 16 Pro I don’t think you would be comparing to the 16e.

 

[Love-hate 🍏 relationship]

shines a new light on C1 battery improvements . 10% bigger battery isn't negligible

It still gets better battery life , but instead of 20% improvements , it's more like 10. Not so crazy

EDIT : more like 8% improvements . I'd take the better speed and stability over 8% battery honestly

EDIT AGAIN : for actual test, the battery is either worst, similar , or at BEST 2.5% better


So 2.5% improvements . Which means nothing

 

[Love-hate 🍏 relationship]

I forgot the 16 pro got a huge improvement in battery life . So the pro is still better than the 16E

 

[iGüey]

If you can afford the 16 Pro I don’t think you would be comparing to the 16e.

Well, I think you’re right. Anyway, he should’ve.

 

[JPack]

Yes, in Wh. The article correctly states that "Apple does not publicly advertise mAh battery capacities for iPhones."

Sure, but that’s a given since mAh isn’t a useful number and doesn’t tell you total energy. Only Wh does. That’s why Apple advertises Wh for MacBook for example.

Even though you have mAh number, you cannot trust them since you don’t know voltage.

 

[Love-hate 🍏 relationship]

Apple does publish battery capacity specs in their compliance docs.

Apple marketing materials make it sound like the C1 is doing the heavy lifting. According to Apple specs, the battery capacity was increased by 12% (Wh rating) compared to iPhone 16.

For every 1% increase, the video streaming battery life tends to increase by 1.3% to 1.4%. This is similar to what we saw with iPhone 15 to iPhone 16. C1 isn't magic. Apple just added more battery to the 16e because it doesn't have a second rear camera.

View attachment 2486350

https://chemtrec.blob.core.windows.net/criterion/APIS_BPIS_Current.pdf

Legal - Global Trade Compliance - Apple

www.apple.com

Yeah good call. 8% improvements .

Apple is very sneaky tbh , this isn't the first time . They're kinda known for this sort of thing .

I'm not even sure it can be calculated like this tbh. If the default battery life difference is 20%, but the battery is 12% bigger, can it be said that c1 brings 20-12=8%?

Bit naive of a question but I'd appreciate an answer

(Also that might be the reason why they refrained from putting MagSafe there, more battery and more inflated battery life results to boast)

 

[segfaultdotorg]

Terrible! Very sad.

 

[masotime]

Yes, in Wh. The article correctly states that "Apple does not publicly advertise mAh battery capacities for iPhones."

Wh is actually a proper measure of energy though. Ah / mAh is a measure of charge, and depends on the battery voltage to determine the actual energy stored.

I do wish the industry in general would move away from mAh as a "measure" of energy capacity and stick with proper units of energy as defined by Physics.

 

[cdsapplefan]

With the new C1 Modem and new WiFi 7 chip from Apple, I feel the iPhone 17 Air is gonna have Extremely good battery life 🔋 both chips will be fully optimized for the iPhone 📱 I can only imagine in 2-3 years when both chips are inserted on the main soc. At that point the efficiency will be Ultra good with in some cases going 5 days without charging depending on usage.

 

[F23]

This might actually be the most boring iPhone ever. Epitome of a Tim Cook product.

They could have added Touch ID to the lock button & remove Face ID for cost reduction, pin hole notch, added haptic volume buttons, faster charging speeds. Anything exciting, but no.

 

[Love-hate 🍏 relationship]

With the new C1 Modem and new WiFi 7 chip from Apple, I feel the iPhone 17 Air is gonna have Extremely good battery life 🔋 both chips will be fully optimized for the iPhone 📱 I can only imagine in 2-3 years when both chips are inserted on the main soc. At that point the efficiency will be Ultra good with in some cases going 5 days without charging depending on usage.

How so? This very article clearly indicates that it isn't the case

In Tom's guide test it's the same, or worse

In Dave's test, it's got a 14.3% better battery

But it has a 12.4% bigger battery .

Which means that the gains are , in the best case , of 2% . lol. This is whitin margin of error .

 

[maszaikasza]

This might actually be the most boring iPhone ever. Epitome of a Tim Cook product.

They could have added Touch ID to the lock button & remove Face ID for cost reduction, pin hole notch, added haptic volume buttons, faster charging speeds. Anything exciting, but no.

So you basically want an average Android device but with iOS... but with poor cameras?

 

[Hank001]

Sure, but that’s a given since mAh isn’t a useful number and doesn’t tell you total energy. Only Wh does. That’s why Apple advertises Wh for MacBook for example.

Even though you have mAh number, you cannot trust them since you don’t know voltage.

Pretty sad sight to see users post way more informative info on this site than the journalists themselves. Well, 'article uploaders' is perhaps a better wording.

Thanks JPack!

 

[Rastapopoulos]

It’s almost hidden in the article, but if the runtime on cellular is a bit worse with a battery that is that much bigger, that means the C1 is actually LESS efficient than what’s in the normal 16.

To be honest, I was already very sceptical due to the specific language used by Apple when they announced it.

 

[svish]

Good to see the larger battery and of course the improved battery life. Looks like the C1 chip is really helpful.

 

[Martin Bland]

Apple does publish battery capacity specs in their compliance docs.

Apple marketing materials make it sound like the C1 is doing the heavy lifting. According to Apple specs, the battery capacity was increased by 12% (Wh rating) compared to iPhone 16.

For every 1% increase, the video streaming battery life tends to increase by 1.3% to 1.4%. This is similar to what we saw with iPhone 15 to iPhone 16. C1 isn't magic. Apple just added more battery to the 16e because it doesn't have a second rear camera.

View attachment 2486350

https://chemtrec.blob.core.windows.net/criterion/APIS_BPIS_Current.pdf

Legal - Global Trade Compliance - Apple

www.apple.com

Using the Wh numbers and the runtime numbers we can compare the phones' efficiency.

The iPhone 16 has 13.839 Wh and a reddit test runtime of 11h 17m (677m). Yielding ~48.92 [minutes/Wh]
The iPhone 16e has 15.556 Wh and a reddit test runtime of 12h 54m (774m). Yielding ~49.76 [minutes/Wh]

So the iPhone 16e is a bit more efficient but not by much. Roughly 1.7% more efficient in this test. It appears the iPhone 16e wins this runtime test because of its much larger battery, rather than a huge efficiency gain. This doesn't mean that the C1 modem isn't more efficient but it is not a large factor for this test. For example, it is possible that the C1 modem's efficiency is more pronounced at idle. That would require a different runtime test.

 

[TechWhisperer]

Better battery life is always "better". Waiting for Friday to see the real reviews.

Yeah and they’re also testing a brand new phone. Use it a for a month and do the test again.

 

[klasma]

Yes, in Wh. The article correctly states that "Apple does not publicly advertise mAh battery capacities for iPhones."

I don't understand. The difference between Wh and mAh is usually the same constant factor (3.85 V) for iPhones, but in case it weren't, then Wh would be the correct number to use for comparison, not mAh. Meaning, it's never wrong to use Wh for comparison.