iPhone 16 Pro Max just smashed our battery life record — does it ever die?
The iPhone 16 Pro Max was like the Energizer Bunny on our battery life test. It just kept going, and going, and going.
The flagship Apple device knocked the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL off its throne, the former reigning battery life champion.
The Pixel 9 Pro XL lasted nearly 19 hours — 18 hours and 50 minutes, to be exact — on a single charge, which is impressively long. However, as it turns out, the iPhone 16 Pro Max is even more power-efficient than its Google rival.
iPhone 16 Pro Max battery life
On our TikTok rundown battery test, which loops a continuous video until it dies with the display at 50% of brightness, the iPhone 16 Pro Max ran out of juice after 25 hours and 17 minutes.
As a seasoned tech reviewer, I’ve seen mobile manufacturers claim that their products have “all-day battery life,” but when I test them myself, the reality is that they have half-day battery life, conking out after just several hours.
However, Apple can actually say that the iPhone 16 Pro Max is capable of surviving for more than a day.
Based on typical usage, which includes internet surfing, streaming, and some idle time, you could probably get away with not charging the iPhone 16 Pro Max for about two days before you need to juice up again.
Curious to see the battery runtimes of other smartphones we’ve tested? Here’s a quick list:
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra – 13 hours and 1 minute
Google Pixel 9 – 16 hours and 6 minutes
iPhone 16 – 16 hours and 20 minutes
iPhone 16 Pro – 18 hours and 17 minutes
Google Pixel 9 Pro XL – 18 hours and 50 minutes
iPhone 16 Plus – 18 hours and 53 minutes
iPhone 16 Pro Max – 25 hours and 17 minutes
At the Sept. 9 “Glowtime” event, where Apple unveiled the new iPhone 16 lineup, the Cupertino-based tech giant boasted that the iPhone 16 Pro Max has the “best iPhone battery life ever” — and the company was right.
After the iPhone 16 Pro Max, the iPhone 16 Plus took second place with a runtime of 18 hours and 53 minutes, beating the Pixel 9 Pro XL by a hair (i.e., three minutes). The Google Pixel 9 Pro XL is now in third place.
The iPhone 16 Pro Max has a starting price of $ 1,199 — and it’s available for pre-order now.
