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iPhone Air vs. iPhone 17 Pro Max Battery Life Compared in New Test

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Tom's Guide this week published the results of its iPhone Air vs. iPhone 17 vs. iPhone 17 Pro vs. iPhone 17 Pro Max battery life test, which involves continuous web browsing over 5G. Each model was set to 150 nits of display brightness.

iPhone-17-vs-Air-and-Pros-Feature.jpg

Here is how long each iPhone model lasted on a full charge:
  • iPhone Air: 12 hours and 2 minutes
  • iPhone 17: 12 hours and 47 minutes
  • iPhone 17 Pro: 15 hours and 32 minutes
  • iPhone 17 Pro Max: 17 hours and 54 minutes
For this specific usage, the highest-end iPhone 17 Pro Max lasted 48.5% (nearly 1.5×) longer than the ultra-thin iPhone Air.

The results are similar to Apple's figures, which show the Pro Max offering up to 44.5% longer battery life than the Air for offline video playback.

Here are Apple's offline video playback figures for each model:
  • iPhone Air: Up to 27 hours
  • iPhone 17: Up to 30 hours
  • iPhone 17 Pro: Up to 33 hours
  • iPhone 17 Pro Max: Up to 39 hours
Of course, most people are not using their iPhones to browse the web or watch videos for an entire day or two nonstop, without using the device for any other purpose. So, these battery life tests do not reflect typical real-world usage. Still, they help to set expectations, and plenty of additional tests will follow over the coming days.

All of the new iPhone models launch this Friday.

Article Link: iPhone Air vs. iPhone 17 Pro Max Battery Life Compared in New Test
 
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https://www.macrumors.com/2025/09/18/iphone-air-vs-iphone-17-pro-max-battery-life-test/
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Wish he added the iPhone 16 Pro to this test so we can know if the air really does have the same battery life. Anyway battery looking much better than some of these YouTubers made it sound. In addition, the adaptive power starts working after 1 week so will be interesting to see the results again with that.
 
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As a person who has always bought the Pro line every single year, I am going to be going Air this year. I barely used the additional cameras and with Promotion and the battery life reports I am feeling very secure in my choice. I cant ***** take holding another brick of a phone for another year. Get me outta here.
 
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MacRumors said:


Tom's Guide this week published the results of its iPhone Air vs. iPhone 17 vs. iPhone 17 Pro vs. iPhone 17 Pro Max battery life test, which involves continuous web browsing over 5G. Each model was set to 150 nits of display brightness.

iPhone-17-vs-Air-and-Pros-Feature.jpg

Here is how long each iPhone model lasted on a full charge:
  • iPhone Air: 12 hours and 2 minutes
  • iPhone 17: 12 hours and 47 minutes
  • iPhone 17 Pro: 15 hours and 32 minutes
  • iPhone 17 Pro Max: 17 hours and 54 minutes
For this specific usage, the highest-end iPhone 17 Pro Max lasted 48.5% (nearly 1.5×) longer than the ultra-thin iPhone Air.

The results are similar to Apple's figures, which show the Pro Max offering up to 44.5% longer battery life than the Air for offline video playback.

Here are Apple's offline video playback figures for each model:
  • iPhone Air: Up to 27 hours
  • iPhone 17: Up to 30 hours
  • iPhone 17 Pro: Up to 33 hours
  • iPhone 17 Pro Max: Up to 39 hours
Of course, most people are not using their iPhones to browse the web or watch videos for an entire day or two nonstop, without using the device for any other purpose. So, these battery life tests do not reflect typical real-world usage. Still, they help to set expectations, and plenty of additional tests will follow over the coming days.

All of the new iPhone models launch this Friday.

Article Link: iPhone Air vs. iPhone 17 Pro Max Battery Life Compared in New Test
Click to expand...
Where is everyone comparing about the iPhone 17 base model battery life. All the attention is on the Air.
 
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zahuh said:
Wish he added the iPhone 16 Pro to this test so we can know if the air really does have the same battery life. Anyway battery looking much better than some of these YouTubers made it sound. In addition, the adaptive power starts working after 1 week so will be interesting to see the results again with that.
Click to expand...
If it’s the same then the 16pro then that’s great news.
 
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It would be interesting to compare if you have similar test results for iPhones from 3-6 years ago. We have been seeing steady battery increases over the past few years, so I think the Air might actually have the same battery usage time as those phones, which everyone considered normal.
 
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BigKahunaBurguer said:
People want to believe what they want to believe... Then regrets will come. Just wait for it.
Click to expand...
Life pro tip. Don't do things you will regret. If you need an iPhone 17, buy that and be content with your decision. If you need an iPhone Air, buy that and be content with your decision. If you need an iPhone 17 Pro/Max, buy that and be content with your decision. If you don't need a new phone, don't buy one and be content with what you have. If you need more than one phone, buy more than one and be content with that choice.

We can't perfectly predict outcomes, but taking some time to think before acting, speaking, or buying something can prevent a lot of potential regret.
 
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RumorConsumer said:
As a person who has always bought the Pro line every single year, I am going to be going Air this year. I barely used the additional cameras and with Promotion and the battery life reports I am feeling very secure in my choice. I cant ***** take holding another brick of a phone for another year. Get me outta here.
Click to expand...
Better battery and cameras with wide and zoom capability. Also has mmWave and double speaker and lidar sensor. If none of that matters to you, then the Air is a better choice. Hands down.
 
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I like a metric of continuously browsing the web rather than watching videos. I have been mostly happy with my iPhone 15 Pro battery life - that is until I went on vacation for a week and spent much more time than usual using maps and the internet to direct me. I'm upgrading to the 17 Pro, mostly for the increased telephoto camera, but the better battery will be welcome when traveling!
 
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RumorConsumer said:
As a person who has always bought the Pro line every single year, I am going to be going Air this year. I barely used the additional cameras and with Promotion and the battery life reports I am feeling very secure in my choice. I cant ***** take holding another brick of a phone for another year. Get me outta here.
Click to expand...
Same, will miss the ultra-wide cam but knowing Apple the Air2 will have it.
 
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