- Battery life tests show the iPhone 17 Pro Max outperforms other iPhones and most Android phones.
- But the iPhone Air performed worst in the test, and the iPhone 17 was slightly better.
- The Google Pixel 10 series is also struggling, while the OnePlus 13 achieves the highest score.
Given the massive 5,088mAh battery and the iPhone's renowned power efficiency, it was always likely that iPhone 17 pro max impressive in terms of battery life, and we now have a clear idea of just how impressive it is.
We tested the durability of all four iPhone 17 models and compared them with iPhone 16 series, Samsung Galaxy S25 series, Google Pixel 10 line, and OnePlus 13. In all cases, the tests involved constant web browsing over 5G with screens set to 150 nits of brightness and seeing how long each phone would last.
The results are good for the iPhone 17 Pro Max, which, with a score of 17 hours and 54 minutes, unsurprisingly beats every other iPhone 17 model.
It also beats any iPhone 16 model (though iPhone 16 pro max not far behind at 17 hours 17 minutes) and beats its key competitors with a 5000 mAh battery. Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra management of 17 hours 14 minutes and a capacity of 5200 mAh. Google Pixel 10 Pro XL Lasting just 14 hours and 20 minutes, it shows that power isn't everything.
The iPhone 17 Pro Max isn't the longest-lasting battery in the test, but only the OnePlus 13 beats it with an impressive 19 hours and 45 minutes. But it has a monster 6,000mAh battery, so its performance is perhaps unsurprising.
Positive for professionals, but avoid Air
iPhone 17 pro also shows good results: 15 hours 32 minutes, despite the fact that it has a much smaller battery capacity of 4252 mAh. This means that he beat the likes iPhone 16 pro at 14 hours 7 minutes and Google Pixel 10 Pro at 13:43. But it lags behind key competitors such as Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus at 16 hours 55 minutes and even the base Samsung Galaxy S25 – 15 hours 43 minutes.
Things get much less impressive when we move on to the base iPhone 17, which, with a battery life of 12 hours and 47 minutes, is only slightly ahead of the iPhone 16's 12 hours and 43 minutes, but otherwise can only best the iPhone 16. iPhone Air (which we will come to shortly) and Samsung Galaxy S25 Edgeboth of which we expected to perform poorly given their thin bodies.
And of the thin phones, the iPhone Air was the worst: it lasted just 12 hours and 2 minutes, making it the worst in terms of longevity in the test – the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge lasted 12 hours and 38 minutes.
So if you care about battery life, then while the iPhone 17 Pro Max is a great choice and the iPhone 17 Pro should get the job done, it's best to avoid the base model and the Air.
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