Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Kshtimms

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 13, 2025
33
30
Checked out a few on hand videos of the Air from tech reviewers on Youtube. Battery tests performed have the Air lasting as long as the iPhone 17!
 
Can't believe these numbers are true. Air has smaller battery and bigger screen than the 17. In other tests the Air is always worse. In the end I guess it really depends on real life usage.

And no I'm not an Air hater. Lol. I wanted it myself but the battery would probably be an issue for me.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Barbareren
Yes battery tests are positive for the Air with it being pretty close to the regular iPhone 17, despite the smaller battery.

The A19 Pro is more efficient than the A19 and also the C1X modem exclusively in the Air is more power efficient.

A19 Pro + C1X + N1 all Apple designed chips allowing for top level optimisation to achieve these numbers.


IMG_0782.jpeg

 
Very interesting results. If the battery is exactly the same for most tasks (surfing, social media, messages, etc) then the Air is the one to get.

The main reason I was considering the regular 17 was to have a longer battery life for everyday use.

The second reason was the 0.5x camera, but I can live without it.

Wish they’d compare numbers with the 16e. I am currently using it and it’s fantastic. If the Air matched or passes the 16e in battery life in various scenarios then I’m sold.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jetcat3
Yes battery tests are positive for the Air with it being pretty close to the regular iPhone 17, despite the smaller battery.

The A19 Pro is more efficient than the A19 and also the C1X modem exclusively in the Air is more power efficient.

A19 Pro + C1X + N1 all Apple designed chips allowing for top level optimisation to achieve these numbers.


View attachment 2551198
View attachment 2551200
Im starting to wonder if its really because of this, that it has the Pro chip and the other chips from Apple. Maybe thats really lead to it somehow being on about the same battery life as the regular 17.
 
  • Like
Reactions: rui no onna
Very interesting results. If the battery is exactly the same for most tasks (surfing, social media, messages, etc) then the Air is the one to get.

The main reason I was considering the regular 17 was to have a longer battery life for everyday use.

The second reason was the 0.5x camera, but I can live without it.

Wish they’d compare numbers with the 16e. I am currently using it and it’s fantastic. If the Air matched or passes the 16e in battery life in various scenarios then I’m sold.
Surely these "tests" are not real life tests. Everything would point to the regular 17 being superior in that regard, but an underclocked CPU might help the Air…
 
Yes battery tests are positive for the Air with it being pretty close to the regular iPhone 17, despite the smaller battery.

The A19 Pro is more efficient than the A19 and also the C1X modem exclusively in the Air is more power efficient.

A19 Pro + C1X + N1 all Apple designed chips allowing for top level optimisation to achieve these numbers.


View attachment 2551198
View attachment 2551200
These battery tests, however, due to their heaviness, tend to clump iPhones together. Heavy use kills them far faster, so the results tend to be closer than they are in real life (at least in my experience).

For example, see this test of the iPhone 8 vs the Xʀ, which was made when iOS 13 was the latest:


The iPhone 8 ended with 5h 08 min. The Xʀ, 7h 29 min. So the iPhone 8 lasted almost 70% as much as the Xʀ did. In my experience… it isn’t that close. With efficient usage, I’d say the iPhone 8 gives me about 45-50% of the battery life of the Xʀ, tested practically on their original iOS versions, iOS 12, back in 2021.

Heavy tests make good battery life iPhones worse than what they worsen comparatively poor iPhones. I’ve always been massively skeptical. This is obviously seen with those tests that compare iOS updates. If you kill both versions, it makes the original one look worse in comparison. With lighter usage, the difference skyrockets. I’ve seen this repeatedly, both with iOS version tests, and when testing different iPhones.

That’s why I don’t consider these tests reliable. A more moderate use highlights the difference a LOT better. I’ve always seen this, especially when they compare iPhones that I have personally tested.

Remember this: intensive use is so inefficient that it blurs iPhones together. Twice the battery capacity makes less difference than it should.
 
  • Like
Reactions: James6s
Im starting to wonder if its really because of this, that it has the Pro chip and the other chips from Apple. Maybe thats really lead to it somehow being on about the same battery life as the regular 17.
There are some differences with the A19 and A19 Pro, more than Apple mentioned.

The A19 Pro is more efficient vs the A19, it’s to do with the cache memory I think with the A19 Pro having significantly bigger L2 cache. ( don’t fully understand it) lol

IMG_0800.jpeg
IMG_0803.jpeg
IMG_0802.jpeg
IMG_0801.jpeg
 
  • Like
Reactions: Yuuuki
These battery tests, however, due to their heaviness, tend to clump iPhones together. Heavy use kills them far faster, so the results tend to be closer than they are in real life (at least in my experience).

Remember this: intensive use is so inefficient that it blurs iPhones together. Twice the battery capacity makes less difference than it should.

Of course heavy use kills them faster!

Surely the bigger the battery the wider the margin should be doing the same thing over a long period of time, heavy usage or light usage or whatever it may be.

In no situation should a much larger battery run down and blur together with a much smaller battery device, regardless of the load.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Barbareren
Of course heavy use kills them faster!

Surely the bigger the battery the wider the margin should be doing the same thing over a long period of time, heavy usage or light usage or whatever it may be.

In no situation should a much larger battery run down and blur together with a much smaller battery device, regardless of the load.
But they do blur together. Massively heavy use blurs devices together.

Like I said, the iPhone 8 is nowhere near as good with efficient use. It’s nowhere near 70% as good as my Xʀ.

I’m not saying there’s no difference. I’m saying that the inefficiency tends to affect devices with better battery life disproportionately.

The bigger the battery the bigger the difference, yes, but it is far closer than light use (and Apple’s stats) would imply.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.