Other iPhone Air battery looks (surprisingly) fantastic

[Yimbaz]

I was 90% sold on the Air before it was even announced just because I don't need Pro-level power or cameras and wanted the thinnest and lightest phone possible. However, rumors about the battery life were giving me pause. That pause vanished once I checked out the battery comparisons on Apple's website, which went live just now.

We'll still have to wait and see what real-world usage reveals, but if the numbers on Apple's website are to be believed, this thing will out-last even an iPhone 16, with battery life approaching 16 Plus levels! This was a huge shock to me, especially considering how universally panned the Galaxy S25 Edge battery life has been. I guess Samsung rushed out a bad phone to try and be first to market with an ultra-thin design. No surprises there.

Obviously if you need the best battery life available in the lineup it's not the phone for you, but as someone who's upgrading from a regular old iPhone 15 all of my fears have been put to rest. Now the only question is whether I get this year's Air or wait for next year...

 

[menist]

I need to see the battery specs before I can consider if it has good battery life.

 

[FeliApple]

I need to see real-world tests first. I’ve been able to reach SOT spec for all my iPhone since the 7 Plus. I got 16 hours of SOT on my iPhone Xʀ on iOS 12 and I’m getting 27 hours of SOT on my 16 Plus. I trust Apple’s numbers.

However… 27 hours of SOT on the Air (so as good as my 16 Plus) sounds difficult to believe. It’s as difficult as the regular 6s’ rating: it is rated for 10 hours and I haven’t been able to get more than 8.5 with any consistency (on iOS 9, when new). This sounds too good to be true. I hope to be proved wrong, but Plus-like battery life sounds difficult to believe at first glance. I’m not upgrading regardless, but we’ll see.

 

[Gregintosh]

I am also considering the air. If reviewers confirm that the battery lasts as long as a 16 pro or plus then it will definitely push me to buy it.

I get it’s the worst battery in the line up but the bottom seems not so bad if Apples numbers are believable.

I will plan on using it without a case. Debating about a screen protector.

 

[FeliApple]

I am also considering the air. If reviewers confirm that the battery lasts as long as a 16 pro or plus then it will definitely push me to buy it.

I get it’s the worst battery in the line up but the bottom seems not so bad if Apples numbers are believable.

I will plan on using it without a case. Debating about a screen protector.

Not only is it “not so bad”. It’s one of the best iPhones ever.

Tough to believe, but we’ll see.

 

[SmOgER]

I need to see the battery specs before I can consider if it has good battery life.

It's quoted as 3149mAh. For what it's worth that's impressive considering how thin it is and that iPhone 16 has 3561mAh.

Though it's a bit hard to believe that it will get comparable battery life considering Air has 6.5-inch screen while 16 is 6.1". Unless they are aggressively undervolting/underclocking that chip and perhaps even applying dimmer auto-brightness settings etc.

 

[bkends35]

It's quoted as 3149mAh. For what it's worth that's impressive considering how thin it is and that iPhone 16 has 3561mAh.

Though it's a bit hard to believe that it will get comparable battery life considering Air has 6.5-inch screen while 16 is 6.1". Unless they are aggressively undervolting/underclocking that chip and perhaps even applying dimmer auto-brightness settings etc.

If those specs are true, that’s super impressive for a phone that thin.

I definitely believe apples claim- they’re usually accurate on relative specs. I’m sure the new in house modem and wifi chips are also helping a fair amount with efficiency.

 

[JPack]

It's quoted as 3149mAh. For what it's worth that's impressive considering how thin it is and that iPhone 16 has 3561mAh.

Though it's a bit hard to believe that it will get comparable battery life considering Air has 6.5-inch screen while 16 is 6.1". Unless they are aggressively undervolting/underclocking that chip and perhaps even applying dimmer auto-brightness settings etc.

Apple did change their battery test slightly with iPhone Air compared to iPhone 16. The test no longer includes any audio output.

Kinda strange Apple would play around with the test definition, but we saw the same thing with Watch 11 and Ultra 3.

 

[James6s]

The A19 Pro, N1 chip & C1X modem must be extremely power efficient. Incredible for such a thin device.

Some wild claims and battery life gains on the Apple site for the Air vs older and recent iPhones.

 

[balzmcfearson]

Mine just arrived. It can charge iPhone 16 pro via usbc cable and if held horizontally against a vertical iphone it can charge it but the magnets wont hold it.

 

[bluespark]

Apple did change their battery test slightly with iPhone Air compared to iPhone 16. The test no longer includes any audio output.

Kinda strange Apple would play around with the test definition, but we saw the same thing with Watch 11 and Ultra 3.

View attachment 2546811

I don't see that as surprising. The Air does not offer stereo audio output, so the test parameters could not refer to that (or Apple would have to cite to different parameters for the different new phones, which it probably wouldn't want to do).

 

[JPack]

I don't see that as surprising. The Air does not offer stereo audio output, so the test parameters could not refer to that (or Apple would have to cite to different parameters for the different new phones, which it probably wouldn't want to do).

Apple could have tested mono audio output. Given the battery test is playing a movie non-stop, choosing no audio is silly.

Not sure why citing different parameters would be difficult. They've already done it for 16e vs. 17 series this year.

 

[FunkyTang]

I’m surprised that the Apple playback testing methodology doesn’t state a brightness level such as medium or minimum.

 

[JPack]

I’m surprised that the Apple playback testing methodology doesn’t state a brightness level such as medium or minimum.

Based on Apple's testing methodology, it's clear they don't expect anyone to reproduce their test results. Rather, it seems to be just a number intended for comparing same year devices only.

 

[FunkyTang]

Found suitable iTunes movie tests.

Here are a few movies on iTunes / Apple TV with runtimes very close to 3h 1m:

• Dances With Wolves (1990) — 3h 1m

One movie on iTunes that is 2 h 23 m long is Superman: The Movie (1978).

 

[zakarhino]

The A19 Pro, N1 chip & C1X modem must be extremely power efficient. Incredible for such a thin device.

Some wild claims and battery life gains on the Apple site for the Air vs older and recent iPhones.

Actually, it appears the N1 or C1X (unclear right now) is not as power efficient as one might think. The key is to look at the video playback time stats for offline vs. streamed. Offline it matches iPhone 16 Pro... but for streamed video it lasts 5 hours less compared to the 16 Pro's 3 hours.

I get a strong feeling once the reviews come out we're going to see a lot of people say it barely gets through an average day or perhaps doesn't last a full day at all. I don't have a good feeling about the battery life.

 

[NotApplicable]

Actually, it appears the N1 or C1X (unclear right now) is not as power efficient as one might think. The key is to look at the video playback time stats for offline vs. streamed. Offline it matches iPhone 16 Pro... but for streamed video it lasts 5 hours less compared to the 16 Pro's 3 hours.

I get a strong feeling once the reviews come out we're going to see a lot of people say it barely gets through an average day or perhaps doesn't last a full day at all. I don't have a good feeling about the battery life.

The N1 is in all of this years’ phones, and the streaming estimate is almost certainly over wifi.

 

[drugdoubles]

Apple did change their battery test slightly with iPhone Air compared to iPhone 16. The test no longer includes any audio output.

Kinda strange Apple would play around with the test definition, but we saw the same thing with Watch 11 and Ultra 3.

View attachment 2546811

Does that mean one speaker only of Air is so bad that even they expect you just turn it off even watching a movie?

 

[JPack]

Does that mean one speaker only of Air is so bad that even they expect you just turn it off even watching a movie?

No speaker output was used for iPhone 17/Air battery tests. So it cannot be used to compare with iPhone 16 battery life.

To answer your question, a few reviewers commented on the speaker quality during the hands on event. Geekerwan for instance said the speaker "can only make a sound" (implying it's really basic in quality).

 

[zakarhino]

The N1 is in all of this years’ phones, and the streaming estimate is almost certainly over wifi.

Yes as per JPack it appears the streaming test was performed over WiFi for all iPhone 17/Pro/Air tests. But that still begs the question: why does the Air take a bigger hit when streaming vs. all the other iPhones (including the new 17 phones).

17, 17 Pro, 17 Pro Max: Lose 3 hours when streaming video
Air: Loses 5 hours

Why?

 

[JPack]

Yes as per JPack it appears the streaming test was performed over WiFi for all iPhone 17/Pro/Air tests. But that still begs the question: why does the Air take a bigger hit when streaming vs. all the other iPhones (including the new 17 phones).

17, 17 Pro, 17 Pro Max: Lose 3 hours when streaming video
Air: Loses 5 hours

Why?

I noticed and thought about this today as well.

Two thoughts:

• Non-optimal antenna design. Wi-Fi or cellular antennas are compromised due to the thin design, requiring more demodulating work/processing by N1.
• Heating. N1, efficient as it may be, still produces heat within the 5.6mm chassis. When this happens, N1 itself becomes less efficient.

 

[FeliApple]

No speaker output was used for iPhone 17/Air battery tests. So it cannot be used to compare with iPhone 16 battery life.

To answer your question, a few reviewers commented on the speaker quality during the hands on event. Geekerwan for instance said the speaker "can only make a sound" (implying it's really basic in quality).

The iPhone 16 didn’t use speakers either. Speakers destroy battery life. There’s no way a 16 Plus lasts 27 hours using its speakers. I think sound is playing through headphones.

 

[ArchEtech]

I don’t see how it will perform as well without the battery and cooling upgrades. I can’t live without the stereo sound. My guess is this is more of a test husk to see how it performs in the market and I can see the next version of the air being much better but I guess we’ll see. I don’t think it’s a bad phone, I just want absolute maximum battery life.

 

[blairh]

I don’t see how it will perform as well without the battery and cooling upgrades. I can’t live without the stereo sound. My guess is this is more of a test husk to see how it performs in the market and I can see the next version of the air being much better but I guess we’ll see. I don’t think it’s a bad phone, I just want absolute maximum battery life.

Losing stereo sound in 2025 is terrible.

I think we all should just chill and wait for the official Air reviews in a few days before saying anything about its battery life.

 

[ArchEtech]

^^^i use the speakers all the time without headphone so yes absolutely.

It’s not that I think it won’t have good battery life, especially to its size and weight. I just want the absolute maximum battery possible.