iPhone 12 Pro Unless you like a dead battery, cancel your iPhone 12 Pro order

[ian87w]

Sometimes I don't understand why Apple is so "conservative" in battery sizes for iPhones. I thought we are getting a good trend with the XR and then the 11 lineup. But now we have another regression. I mean why? Even "basic" things like messaging and social media actually takes quite a bit of battery power as those usages turn the screen and data usage on all the time. Apple still uses Audio playback as one of its benchmark in measuring battery life. That's a legacy measurement leftover from the iPod era. Imo Apple should be using more complex activities like video recording or video game runtime. I mean do we actually care if iPhones have 50 hours of audio playback anymore?

On Android side, OEMs don't seem to be having a problem putting large batteries while still keeping the form factor slim and modern. So design doesn't seem to be a bottleneck, unless it's intentional. Maybe the Ive cult is still alive and well within Apple?

 

[UKapple73]

I’m gonna defend the op a little here
You can trash battery tests like mrwhosetheboss all you like, and say it’s not representative of real use, but then no test is. The purpose of such tests is to directly compare other phones and so I believe they do have a validity
In that particular test, the new 12 pro had demonstrably lower battery life than the 11 pro.
Wether it was defective or something who knows, on the face of it these tests do show something

 

[BigMcGuire]

I’m gonna defend the op a little here
You can trash battery tests like mrwhosetheboss all you like, and say it’s not representative of real use, but then no test is. The purpose of such tests is to directly compare other phones and so I believe they do have a validity
In that particular test, the new 12 pro had demonstrably lower battery life than the 11 pro.
Wether it was defective or something who knows, on the face of it these tests do show something

In my real world test - my 12 Pro is within 15% of my 11 Pro Max.

Imo the title is still clickbaity.

 

[Angelbethany]

My battery in my 12 Pro has been fine- lasts the whole day with a lot of use, and I charge my phone every night anyway....

 

[JagRunner]

I came from an SE 2020
This 12 Pro battery lasts me a hell of a lot longer than the SE. I’m happy.

 

[George Knighton]

I have only had my 12 Pro for a few days. Set up as new, and on T-Mobile so my "5G" is going to be lower bands and no mmWave at all in my part of the world.

So far, the battery has been just fine, and I end the day with quite a bit of life left in it. If it is in any way worse than my previous XS Max, it's not really showing up yet.

 

[JulianL]

Sometimes I don't understand why Apple is so "conservative" in battery sizes for iPhones. I thought we are getting a good trend with the XR and then the 11 lineup. But now we have another regression. I mean why? Even "basic" things like messaging and social media actually takes quite a bit of battery power as those usages turn the screen and data usage on all the time. Apple still uses Audio playback as one of its benchmark in measuring battery life. That's a legacy measurement leftover from the iPod era. Imo Apple should be using more complex activities like video recording or video game runtime. I mean do we actually care if iPhones have 50 hours of audio playback anymore?

On Android side, OEMs don't seem to be having a problem putting large batteries while still keeping the form factor slim and modern. So design doesn't seem to be a bottleneck, unless it's intentional. Maybe the Ive cult is still alive and well within Apple?

I agree with all you say. It perplexes (and seriously annoys) me too but I don't think it's intentional because I can't see a reason why it would be.

Do android phones tend to have anything similar to the taptic engine? I remember when that was first introduced (I can't remember in which model, it coincided with a reduction in battery capacity and on teardown it became obvious that some of what was previously battery space had been lost to the new component. You can see from the latest teardowns (https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/iPhone+12+and+12+Pro+Teardown/137669) that the taptic engine still takes up a lot of space in iPhones e.g.

I always find photos like the above (it's from iFixit's 12 & 12 Pro teardown) so frustrating but also tantalising. If (when?) Apple drops the physical connector entirely then if only it could increase the packing density in the main PCB by just a tiny bit, enough to shorten the PCB so that the taptic engine could be rotated 90 degrees to get out of the way of the bottom of the battery, the battery could go pretty much all the way down to the bottom of the device (only the speakers in the way) and that could deliver a pretty significant boost in battery capacity.

I keep saying "maybe next year" and I did get a really nice surprise with the 11 Pro & Pro Max announcement, but now Apple seems to have reverted to its old ways and again I'm left thinking "maybe next year". Apple has built up an in-house wireless design team that I am hoping has the potential to be as good as the A-series design team and that, once Apple starts using in-house silicon from that team they might deliver not only extra power efficiencies but maybe also be able to do more co-packaging on the main PCB which might get the size reduction I hope for and allow Apple to free up more space for bigger batteries in future devices.

 

[webbuzz]

This feels like a title for a Gordon Kelly article. 🤣

 

[ian87w]

I agree with all you say. It perplexes (and seriously annoys) me too but I don't think it's intentional because I can't see a reason why it would be.

Do android phones tend to have anything similar to the taptic engine? I remember when that was first introduced (I can't remember in which model, it coincided with a reduction in battery capacity and on teardown it became obvious that some of what was previously battery space had been lost to the new component. You can see from the latest teardowns (https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/iPhone+12+and+12+Pro+Teardown/137669) that the taptic engine still takes up a lot of space in iPhones e.g.

I always find photos like the above (it's from iFixit's 12 & 12 Pro teardown) so frustrating but also tantalising. If (when?) Apple drops the physical connector entirely then if only it could increase the packing density in the main PCB by just a tiny bit, enough to shorten the PCB so that the taptic engine could be rotated 90 degrees to get out of the way of the bottom of the battery, the battery could go pretty much all the way down to the bottom of the device (only the speakers in the way) and that could deliver a pretty significant boost in battery capacity.

I keep saying "maybe next year" and I did get a really nice surprise with the 11 Pro & Pro Max announcement, but now Apple seems to have reverted to its old ways and again I'm left thinking "maybe next year". Apple has built up an in-house wireless design team that I am hoping has the potential to be as good as the A-series design team and that, once Apple starts using in-house silicon from that team they might deliver not only extra power efficiencies but maybe also be able to do more co-packaging on the main PCB which might get the size reduction I hope for and allow Apple to free up more space for bigger batteries in future devices.

Good point. OTOH, there’s the z-axis as well, thickness. An extra thickness can probably help, and it can also help eliminate the camera bump. But Apple didn’t go that way, and they rather go back to their thinness craze again.

Unfortunately, the improvement of battery will come with the elimination of components. On the XR and 11, Apple removed the 3D Touch layer. I’m afraid you will be correct, that the next one to go is the port to get extra room for more battery. It’s just sad that customers have to trade off between functionalities and battery.

 

[Supra Mac]

Is coconutBattery giving me a calculated maximum capacity? That is what I'm thinking, I'm not 122mah short of 3046mah of the 11Pro right? On the other hand I guess you can have a nominal design capacity and hopefully luck out to get one on the higher end? Insight from any fellow battery nerds.

 

[BigMcGuire]

Is coconutBattery giving me a calculated maximum capacity? That is what I'm thinking, I'm not 122mah short of 3046mah of the 11Pro right? On the other hand I guess you can have a nominal design capacity and hopefully luck out to get one on the higher end? Insight from any fellow battery nerds.

View attachment 977219

Yep, my 12 Pro is 103.4%. I'm going to guess that a lot of these phones are going to come with a slightly higher capacity than normal this year. Helps keep that battery health at 100%. (My guess).

Yes, I name my devices after Borg stuff. (Star Trek).

 

[supermanfan]

I have gone from 11 Pro to 12 Pro to 11 Pro Max. Only the 11 PM feels like an upgrade. I may consider the 12 PM, but fear the battery performance reduction I saw in the 12 Pro.

 

[StarShot]

In my many years of being a member on Macrumors I’ve yet to meet or know a local personal friend/family member who talks about their phones battery life. I do believe only in forums people complain about battery life/colors/what a new iPhone should’ve featured. I currently use 11 Pro Max and in my opinion that’s the best battery life I’ve ever gotten on any iPhone. I will be upgrading to 12 pro Max come November as I’m on Apple UP. Seriously there’s many people out there who simply don’t worry about battery life. Currently it isn’t horrible. If anything connect you’re phone during the day for 30 mins at your desk charger. Or while you make a drive. I’m currently 38. I got my first cell phone at age of 17. Since then I’ve always left my cell phone charging overnight while I sleep. I’m one of those who prefers to wake up to my phone at 100%.

And buy an Android? Saying the iPhone 12's battery life is poorer than iPhone 11 Pro is meaningless.

 

[BigMcGuire]

And buy an Android? Saying the iPhone 12's battery life is poorer than iPhone 11 Pro is meaningless.

I have to second this. Most of my relatives, family, and a lot of coworkers have iPhones. Very few ever talk about their battery life.

Me? I could write a book on batteries (mostly myself blithering aimlessly). lol.

Traveling the world over the last few years - I was more than shocked to see the number of iPhones with 10% battery left before a long flight - sitting at an outlet with a 5w brick. lol. Just astounding... Every city, everywhere. lol.

 

[Sorig]

Why are posts like this not treated as spam and deleted? The moderation of this forum is bizarre.

Legitimate discussion is considered spam by you. Lol wow.

“I don’t like hearing negatives things about Apple. Please mods, censor this k thanks”.

 

[QueenTyrone]

In my real world test - my 12 Pro is within 15% of my 11 Pro Max.

Imo the title is still clickbaity.

View attachment 977177

I mean you barely do anything intensive excluding the camera and your b.life is still poor. Doesn’t look that great

Legitimate discussion is considered spam by you. Lol wow.

“I don’t like hearing negatives things about Apple. Please mods, censor this k thanks”.

Welcome to macrumors in a nutshell

 

[BigMcGuire]

I mean you barely do anything intensive excluding the camera and your b.life is still poor. Doesn’t look that great



Welcome to macrumors in a nutshell

Well from my perspective, my 11 Pro Max only had ~15% more battery % at the end of the day. So a 15% tradeoff for that massive weight reduction and significant portability boost is a huge win for me. So I'm loving it!

Glad to know a tiny bit of Youtube and surfing Safari isn't intensive. I do claim to be a light user. lol.

 

[QueenTyrone]

Well from my perspective, my 11 Pro Max only had ~15% more battery % at the end of the day. So a 15% tradeoff for that massive weight reduction and significant portability boost is a huge win for me. So I'm loving it!

Glad to know a tiny bit of Youtube and surfing Safari isn't intensive. I do claim to be a light user. lol.

How???? Do you keep it on max brightness all day? I get 13-16hrs SOT on mine

 

[BigMcGuire]

How???? Do you keep it on max brightness all day? I get 13-16hrs SOT on mine

That is a very good question. MY wife still has her 11 Pro Max and she can drain her battery before evening. But she's far more important than I am - has a social life (friends), and she uses her phone heavily. lol. My light usage and my 12 Pro - I'm pretty happy. My wife is waiting for the 12 Pro Max.

 

[mcdj]

Why are posts like this not treated as spam and deleted? The moderation of this forum is bizarre.

You seem not to like macrumors very much, based on your relentless contentiousness since joining 3 weeks ago. Maybe it’s time to rethink the amount of time you spend here. Doesn’t seem healthy.

 

[K.P.]

5G in my area is slower than LTE. I turned off 5G and don’t notice much of a difference between the 12 Pro and 11 Pro.

 

[Tsepz]

I had a 12 pro for order but then I saw battery tests that are supposed to be used as a GUIDE point in conjunction with your typical usage. 6 hr SOT would not cut it for me nor would my phone last 6 hours, I use too many battery hogging apps (discord,e7,Dragalia lost,genshin impact,modified Twitter,modified Instagram) I take a lot of photos(almost at 40k photos) and at least 2-5 4k videos a day 2 mins each. I work my part time jobs on my phone during my main job as well.

I like to use small designer bags and fitting my 11 pro max sucks in smaller bags. I just use my pochette Métis mainly now but I want to use smaller bags like a lady Dior mini or small. So I was like ok I can use the smaller pro and use a battery bank. That takes up even more space than just my 11 pro max and it’s heavier than my 11 pro max. I don’t want to have to charge up 2-3x a day. My pro max on avg gets 13hrs SOT and even that makes me nervous.

Coupled with the fact I like to jailbreak (which kills blife a good deal) and or stay on betas (inconsistent blife). The pro just doesn’t fit my lifestyle. If the battery tests could get at least 8 hours on the 12 pro with max brightness I could make it work and just deal with it but 6? Nah not possible.

That’s why I love battery drain tests, they test phones blife with more extreme use and I can guideline my useage and if the phone would work and it won’t. Too bad for me, I’m so tired of big phones too

This is exactly it. I also watch Battery Tests because they work great as a guide to figuring out how long the phone will last with my heavy usage. My usage is definitely not as heavy as yours but there are days where I absolutely abuse my phones, and my 11 Pro Max has proven to be an absolute beast.

Let’s see what the 12 Pro Max battery tests show, hopefully Apple are able to fix this with iOS 14.2 or 14.3, but right now the 12 series is not looking good at all on the battery front even the PhoneArena tests look scary.

 

[FlyingTexan]

Probably because they took a phone out of the box, updated it, and ran test before it finished indexing which can take a couple days and kills battery performance. Wait till they use it a week.

A battery life test by Arun Maini of the YouTube channel Mrwhosetheboss found that the iPhone 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max had significant leads in battery runtimes compared to the newer iPhone 12 and 12 Pro. The iPhone 12 and 12 Pro have a 2,815 mAh battery, which is not only lower in terms of actual capacity than the previous generation but also powers larger and higher resolution displays leading to lower runtimes.

iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro's battery runtimes fail to impress when compared to the iPhone 11 Pro

A battery life test by Arun Maini of the YouTube channel Mrwhosetheboss found that the iPhone 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max had significant leads in battery runtimes compared to the newer iPhone 12 and 12 Pro. The iPhone 12 and 12 Pro have a 2,815 mAh battery, which is not only lower in terms of actual...

www.notebookcheck.net

First time a new phone had a much worse battery experience than its predecessor. Apple wisely wanted to sell as many of these as possible before the Max is released which offers decent battery life. 6 hours of battery life is a joke and that assumes you are not on 5G much.

 

[JulianL]

This is exactly it. I also watch Battery Tests because they work great as a guide to figuring out how long the phone will last with my heavy usage. My usage is definitely not as heavy as yours but there are days where I absolutely abuse my phones, and my 11 Pro Max has proven to be an absolute beast.

Let’s see what the 12 Pro Max battery tests show, hopefully Apple are able to fix this with iOS 14.2 or 14.3, but right now the 12 series is not looking good at all on the battery front even the PhoneArena tests look scary.

I‘m at completely the other end of the spectrum to you. I’m quite lucky that in theory two of Apple’s official battery life stats should be very good metrics for my usage patterns. I use my phone as pretty much a combined kindle and iPod that happens to have a phone built in and other stuff used fairly infrequently such as calendar, banking apps and a few utilities. On that basis the most relevant number to me is the non-streaming video number that Apple publishes (quoted as 17 hours for 12 Pro and 20 hours for 12 Pro Max). I take that as a worst-case for ebook reading since, like an ebook, it has the screen lit up for the whole time but should in theory be worst-case since I have my Kindle app set to dark mode for better power efficiency on an OLED screen and video is going to light up more pixels on average plus video involves more CPU & GPU processing vs looking at static ebook pages for all except the page flips.

On that basis I would hope to see my 11 Pro last maybe 3 days with 15 hours of ebook reading (with the other 25% of battery being lost to basic background activity over the 72 hours) but in reality I rarely get better than 3 days maximum with 10 or 12 hours of reading. Either Apple’s video playback numbers are dubious, the Kindle app is somehow a bigger battery user than it should be (rendering mostly static pages and waiting for page turns should use minimal power vs playing video) or the background battery drain per day is higher than I would hope which would be sad because once when I was ill I got 14 days on a single charge from my 5s when it sat unused on my desk for all that time! I’m hoping that if I keep a 12 Pro Max locked to 4G the Qualcomm modem in the 12 Pro Max will be more efficient than the Intel modem in the 11 Pro Max so maybe the general background battery drain will reduce which for my usage patterns would be quite a big benefit.

(In case anyone is wondering, I really value multi day battery life so that I can go on weekend trips without needing to pack a charger or carry a power bank. I do keep a small charging cable on my key ring so were I to need a recharge all I need to find is a USB port but staying within a solid multi-day battery limit is nice to know that I really am unlikely to need to worry about recharging on a short trip and it cuts down on what I need to remember to pack.

 

[Tsepz]

I‘m at completely the other end of the spectrum to you. I’m quite lucky that in theory two of Apple’s official battery life stats should be very good metrics for my usage patterns. I use my phone as pretty much a combined kindle and iPod that happens to have a phone built in and other stuff used fairly infrequently such as calendar, banking apps and a few utilities. On that basis the most relevant number to me is the non-streaming video number that Apple publishes (quoted as 17 hours for 12 Pro and 20 hours for 12 Pro Max). I take that as a worst-case for ebook reading since, like an ebook, it has the screen lit up for the whole time but should in theory be worst-case since I have my Kindle app set to dark mode for better power efficiency on an OLED screen and video is going to light up more pixels on average plus video involves more CPU & GPU processing vs looking at static ebook pages for all except the page flips.

On that basis I would hope to see my 11 Pro last maybe 3 days with 15 hours of ebook reading (with the other 25% of battery being lost to basic background activity over the 72 hours) but in reality I rarely get better than 3 days maximum with 10 or 12 hours of reading. Either Apple’s video playback numbers are dubious, the Kindle app is somehow a bigger battery user than it should be (rendering mostly static pages and waiting for page turns should use minimal power vs playing video) or the background battery drain per day is higher than I would hope which would be sad because once when I was ill I got 14 days on a single charge from my 5s when it sat unused on my desk for all that time! I’m hoping that if I keep a 12 Pro Max locked to 4G the Qualcomm modem in the 12 Pro Max will be more efficient than the Intel modem in the 11 Pro Max so maybe the general background battery drain will reduce which for my usage patterns would be quite a big benefit.

(In case anyone is wondering, I really value multi day battery life so that I can go on weekend trips without needing to pack a charger or carry a power bank. I do keep a small charging cable on my key ring so were I to need a recharge all I need to find is a USB port but staying within a solid multi-day battery limit is nice to know that I really am unlikely to need to worry about recharging on a short trip and it cuts down on what I need to remember to pack.

This is was very intriguing read, it’s always fascinating to hear or read about how vastly different all our usage patterns of these devices are, lol!

So going by your usage you may actually see better battery life on the 12 Pro Max, considering that it’s using a more efficient 5nm chip and better Qualcomm modem put together with the fact that your usage is not very CPU/GPU taxing you could possibly go further with a 12 Pro Max if not equal 11 Pro Max battery life.

I would be interested to hear how you get on in a month or 2 when you have had it for a little while.