Every iPhone Available In 2025, Ranked By Battery Life

The evolution of the iPhone since 2007 has brought the world's first smartphone a long way. If Steve Jobs could see the iPhone of today, he might shed a tear of joy — or roll in his grave, who knows — at the OLED screens, studio-quality mics, and iPhone processors capable of playing AAA games. One area where the iPhone has never really stood out, however, is battery life. iOS is well-optimized, to be sure, but of the five smartphones with great battery life you can buy right now, most are Android. That may be changing with the 17 series lineup, featuring a radical redesign to fit more battery into the chassis like it's Merlin's travel bag in "The Sword in the Stone." Looking at all the iPhones Apple currently sells on its website, how much battery do they actually have?

Apple currently sells the following phones: the iPhone 16e, 16, 16 Plus, iPhone 17, 17 Pro, 17 Pro Max, and iPhone Air. We'll take a look at each of these phones and examine their physical battery capacity compared to Apple's claimed battery life. We've ranked every iPhone on this list from smallest to largest battery. In addition, we'll also discuss what factors affect your battery life and how you can improve it.

The super-skinny iPhone Air is peak Apple because it unashamedly prioritizes form over function. As impressive as the light, 5.6mm-thick frame is, it costs the phone a lot to get down to that size. It's got only one camera (no telephoto zoom), one speaker, and all that for a bigger $999 price tag. Only time will tell if all those compromises make this impressively engineered phone worth it. Perhaps the largest compromise, however, is the reduced battery size. The iPhone Air features a 3,149 mAh battery, the smallest of any iPhone Apple currently sells, and smaller even than the similarly thin Samsung S25 Edge.

Despite having a battery that would be small in any other flagship phone, Apple still claims it delivers all-day battery life — though who knows, maybe that's a nine-hour Jupiter day. According to Apple's own spec sheet, that translates to 27 hours of video playback, or 22 hours when streaming from a video service like YouTube. Perhaps anticipating reduced battery life, Apple sells a $99 iPhone Air-only MagSafe battery that helps it get up to 40 hours of video playback, or 35 hours streamed. Apple's new Liquid Glass in iOS 26 has been zapping everyone's batteries (speaking from personal experience) so we may have to wait for more updates to see the iPhone Air reach its full potential.

Having said all that, early testing is promising. The Tech Chap on YouTube did an iPhone battery drain test with all the new models. The iPhone Air fared only slightly worse than the iPhone 17, getting 6 hours and 43 minutes of usage versus the 17's 6 hours and 55 minutes. If this test reflects the reality of most users, then the sacrifice may not be as large as initial impressions suggest.

Coming in with the next largest battery on this list is, perhaps surprisingly, the iPhone 16 — not the iPhone 16e. The iPhone 16 introduced the lineup's refreshed dual-camera design, the Camera Control button, and brought Apple Intelligence to the baseline iPhones; before then, you had to buy the Pro models to get Intelligence features. We praised the iPhone 16 in our review for being a lot more bang for your buck than baseline iPhones have been in previous years — a trend continued with the 17, but we'll get to that. The 16 features a 3,561 mAh battery, a decent uplift over the 3,349 mAh battery of the previous iPhone 15.

Apple advertises 22 hours of video playback, or 18 hours when streaming video. When the screen is off and you're just listening to audio, you can get a maximum of 80 hours of audio playback. The 16 supports fast charging to 50% in half an hour. This comes as a surprise, since the iPhone Air is technically rated for more battery life despite a much smaller battery.

Testing by Mrwhosetheboss suggests that these numbers are conservative at best. In a battery drain test, the Air managed 7 hours and 18 minutes, while the 16 lasted a much more significant 9 hours and 51 minutes. Perhaps the numbers provided by Apple reflect the iPhone 16 running iOS 18, not iOS 26. It may also be due to the iPhone Air having a titanium body, not the more thermally effective aluminum of the 16. Battery drain tests often show wildly differing numbers, so take them with a grain of salt.

Even though it's just a year older, and even though it looks virtually the same as its predecessor, the iPhone 17 is perhaps one of the biggest upgrades to the base lineup ever. Apple bumped up the base storage to 256GB, upgraded the selfie camera to an 18MP square-shaped sensor, and finally upgraded the screen to a 120Hz ProMotion refresh rate and an Always On display. Though it may be missing the Pro's camera plateau and single back glass panel design, it still got a considerable battery upgrade; the battery is rated at 3,692 mAh, over 100 mAh more than the iPhone 16. Apple isn't using the new silicon carbon batteries yet, so this all comes down to engineering — meaning this is not a copy-and-paste of last year, despite the external similarity.

According to Apple, that 100 mAh increase translates to an extra 8 hours of video playback — 30 hours total, or 27 when streamed. Fast charge is also much quicker than the previous generation, with it taking only 20 minutes to get to half your battery.

The Tech Chap's test resulted in only about 10 minutes more battery life than the iPhone Air, but other testing has suggested the 17 gets two hours more than the Air, and almost an hour more than its 16 predecessor. Once again, battery life has not been the strong suit of iOS 26, and every battery test uses different methodologies and factors, so realistic usage will vary from person to person. Needless to say, the iPhone 17 consistently delivers better battery life than the 16 it replaced.

You read that right. The iPhone 16e, that awkward mid-generation, $599 budget option, has a larger battery than the recently released 17. It contains a 4,005 mAh battery. Perhaps being $200 cheaper left engineers with extra space in the chassis due to a crop of missing features in the iPhone 16e. Cutting out MagSafe, for example, may well have given it an extra millimeter or two for the battery.

Don't let the big battery fool you. Apple only advertises 26 hours of video playback or 21 hours when streamed, though there's an uplift with audio playback at 90 hours. This is strange, since the iPhone 16e would appear to have everything it needs for class-leading battery efficiency. It has a 60Hz screen and is the first iPhone to feature a proprietary Apple modem, the C1. One of the biggest benefits of switching to proprietary connectivity hardware is battery efficiency, and yet the numbers don't seem to reflect that. The 16e also enjoys 30-minute 0-50% fast charging.

However, testing does seem to promise good things for that bigger battery. One YouTube drain test by SimplyPops shows the iPhone 16e lasting 11 hours and 20 minutes — over an hour longer than the 16 at 10 hours and 14 minutes. It still has the advantage over the 17 and 17 Pro, since only the iPhone Air got the upgraded C1X modem, which includes Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, not just cellular connectivity. We can only assume firmware upgrades to the C1 modem will improve battery life as time goes by, since it seems like the 16e and iPhone Air are both guinea pigs intended to iron out all the kinks in Apple's proprietary connectivity chips.

To put it in a sentence, the iPhone 17 Pro is Apple let off the leash despite Pro features trickling down to the 17 baseline models. Similar to the iPhone Air, a ton of engineering work went into cramming all the processing heft into the new camera plateau, leaving the rest of the chassis free for battery, battery, and more battery: 4,252 mAh, to be precise. For reference, the iPhone 16 Pro of the previous generation had only 3,582 mAh, so this is an absolutely massive upgrade for a next-generation phone that's roughly the same dimensions.

Once again, Apple's reported battery life is somewhat confusing compared to other options on this list that have less battery. The iPhone 17 Pro is rated to get 33 hours of video playback or 30 hours streamed, with upgraded fast charging to 50% in just 20 minutes. Predictably, the iPhone 17 Pro gets some of the best battery life compared to other phones in the same generation and the previous. One test even puts it ahead of the 16 Pro Max, a larger phone with a larger 4,685 mAh battery.

It's important to note that the 17 Pro may not be winning here by virtue of a bigger battery alone. It has major engineering advantages compared to other models. For example, it's the first iPhone with a vapor chamber and the first in many generations to have an only partially glass back panel. It also ditched titanium for aluminum, which offers better thermal performance. Both should help significantly with thermal management and thus protect the battery from getting too hot. Had Apple decided to include the C1X modem, there's a good chance the battery life might have been even better.

The Plus iPhones are no more, making the iPhone 16 Plus the last in a brief lineup of what were, effectively, larger base iPhones. It seems the iPhone Air took its spot. However, Apple still sells the iPhone 16 Plus, and it may be worth a buy if you're focused on battery life. The 16 Plus gets 4,674 mAh, almost as much as the far pricier 16 Pro Max — but Apple no longer sells the latter. If it weren't for the iPhone 17 Pro Max's engineering (similar to the 17 Pro), this might even be a better budget option than the latest Pro Max phone.

Once more, the spec sheet gives a different impression. Video playback is rated for 22 hours, or 18 hours streamed, with screen-off audio playback at only 80 hours. Users can get 50% battery in half an hour as well. At the time, the 16 Plus also enjoyed some thermal improvements to the battery and better repairability, making this a great phone if you'd rather replace the battery in three years instead of buying a new one.

YouTuber Mrwhosetheboss's phone battery drain test got 8 hours and 45 minutes on the 16 Plus, putting it behind both the 15 Pro Max and 16 Pro Max. Keep in mind this was with iOS 18, which at the time was notoriously buggy. Results will certainly vary with iOS 26, which is also not known for great battery life. Without more thorough battery drain testing compared to the most recent generation, it's hard to say where the 16 Plus sits in terms of actual battery life.

It probably doesn't come as a surprise that the phone with the biggest battery on this list is the latest iPhone 17 Pro Max, sporting the largest battery in any iPhone ever: 5,088 mAh. Same as with the 17 Pro, Apple went back to the drawing board with this one and completely redesigned the iPhone to squeeze its brains into the camera plateau, leaving nothing but room for the battery in the rest of the chassis. Massive thermal improvements with the aluminum body and vapor chamber will likely also contribute to improved battery life. Crossing the 5,000 mAh threshold finally puts the iPhone on par with what big Android phones have been enjoying for years. Truly, the only thing holding this phone back is the lack of the more power-efficient C1X modem.

It's here that we see a jaw-dropping 39 hours of video playback, or 35 hours streamed. It also supports 20-minute 0-50% fast charging. When compared against other iPhones — and occasionally some Android phones — the 17 Pro Max pulls out front as the uncontested king of battery life.

Mrwhosetheboss measured 13 hours of battery life, while Mr Tech Chap reported 7 hours and 59 minutes. We hate to beat a dead horse here, but again, consider that this is an early public build of iOS 26. A year from now, battery life may be significantly better than it already is. Things will get really interesting if someone compares this phone to the iPhone 18 in 2026, especially if it includes a next-generation Apple C-series modem.

Our eagle-eyed readers will have noticed a disparity between the physical battery capacity, Apple's advertised battery life, and controlled testing. Unfortunately, it's effectively impossible to give a specific figure on how much battery life any given phone offers. It's not just false advertising on Apple's part. If you're shopping for a phone with good battery life, or trying to understand the battery life of your own device, there are a few things to keep in mind.

One, everyone uses their phones differently. Some people barely touch their phones throughout the day, while others are glued to them from sunrise to sunset. Some people use resource-heavy or poorly optimized apps, while others stick with lightweight, well-coded apps that only sip battery. Some people switch rapidly between different apps, while others stick to a small handful for longer periods. Some people use battery-hungry settings, while others turn those settings off. The point is, all of these use cases mean your mileage will vary.

Another factor is the operating system. As we've stated previously, iOS 18 and iOS 26 have been in pretty rough shape. Some testing has suggested that bare-bones actions like opening and closing apps in iOS 26 can lead to huge battery loss due to the graphically demanding Liquid Glass effect. It's also worth noting that those testing battery life try to control for battery degradation by (ideally) using brand-new phones that haven't had many charging cycles. So that phone you've owned for two years will get much worse battery life than a new one. Avoiding mistakes everyone makes with lithium-ion batteries, like keeping to the 40/80 rule, can go a long way. So only look at battery claims and drain tests as a point of reference.

Battery life is clearly a nebulous thing. What can a person do to actually get better battery life? We're not going to tell you to drop your brightness to 1% and squint all day long. Let's look at ways to improve battery life on the iPhone without making it miserable to use.

First, change some settings. Changing these five iPhone settings can extend your battery life. Don't bother closing iPhone apps thinking it will improve your battery life, because it actually has the opposite effect. Remember that the iPhone has a low power mode. We recommend turning this on any time you don't use your phone for a stretch of time, like when you're at work. iOS 26 also includes an Adaptive Power mode that is ideal if you want battery savings without sacrificing background tasks and notifications.

Also, make sure your phone is updated. Contrary to popular belief, Apple does not slow down your phone when you update. In reality, the processor on phones with severely degraded batteries has to slow down to prevent your phone from becoming unstable. Replacing the battery in your iPhone is easier than ever these days and will give you a significant increase in battery life (and performance) if your phone is already two to three years old. Having said that, you may wish to wait before updating to the latest iOS 26 if you're still on iOS 18. Give Apple some time to iron out all the kinks with its new Liquid Glass, and enjoy a much more stable, battery-friendly iOS 18 in the meantime. If you do update, though, prepare for your phone to feel hot and sluggish for a brief period as it finishes its setup processes in the background.