The iPhone 17 range is official, and it’s going on sale later this week – but how do they fare in terms of battery life?
With new entries like the iPhone Air offering a much smaller battery than some might be used to, we’ve broken down the expected battery life of every model in Apple’s new flagship smartphone collection to help you decide which is best for your needs.
After all, if you don’t use your phone all that often, you likely won’t need the pricey iPhone 17 Pro Max – but on the flip side, if you are a power user, the iPhone Air might not be the iPhone for you.
iPhone 17
The iPhone 17 might look a lot like its predecessor, but Apple has managed to squeeze a slightly larger battery in this year’s phone – more specifically, a 3,692mAh cell, up from the iPhone 16’s 3,561mAh alternative, representing a rather modest 3.7% boost.
Now compared to some Android flagships, like the similarly-sized Samsung Galaxy S25 with its 4000mAh cell, that might seem a bit limited. And, if it were any other manufacturer, there would be serious concerns there – but Apple has proven time and time again that it can squeeze more battery life out of smaller cells.
That said, Apple claims that the iPhone 17 – combined with its new battery-friendly 120Hz LTPO tech – can last for up to 30 hours of video playback. That, by the way, is four more than you’d get on the iPhone 16.
If you opt for the eSIM-only variant of the phone, available primarily in the US but also in other regions, you’ll get an additional two hours of battery life. That’s simply because Apple used the space previously occupied by the SIM tray and other components to accommodate a larger battery.
iPhone Air
The iPhone Air is Apple’s slimmest iPhone ever at an impressively svelte 5.6mm thick, with only Samsung’s competing 5.8mm Galaxy S25 Edge coming close.
But as with Samsung’s slimline flagship, ultra-thin dimensions simply mean there isn’t the space for a larger battery. With that in mind, the iPhone Air sports a modest 3149mAh cell, which falls quite short of Samsung’s competing 3900mAh alternative – and also represents the smallest battery of any model of iPhone 17.
That said, Apple is confident in its ability to boost battery life with a combination of hardware and software smarts, with the company claiming that it’ll still deliver all-day battery life with up to 27 hours of video playback. For what it’s worth, that is three hours longer than Samsung’s promise of up to 24 hours.
Unlike other models in the iPhone 17 range that offer a modest boost in battery life by opting for the eSIM-only variant, the iPhone Air is eSIM-only worldwide, so there’s no chance of squeezing a little more out of the phone.
iPhone 17 Pro
The iPhone 17 Pro represents the biggest jump in battery life when compared to its iPhone 16 counterpart.
The new Pro-level iPhone packs a 4,252mAh battery, compared to the 3,582mAh cell of the iPhone 16 Pro, representing a pretty impressive 18.7% jump in battery capacity – and that should translate well to battery life too.
Apple claims that the iPhone 17 Pro can last up to 31 hours of video playback, a pretty solid jump over the iPhone 16 Pro’s 27 hours.
As with the iPhone 17, if you opt for an eSIM-only version of the iPhone 17 Pro without a SIM tray, you’ll get an extra two hours of video playback, bringing the total to 33 hours on a single charge.
iPhone 17 Pro Max
The Pro Max tends to have the best battery life among iPhones, simply because it has the most internal space for a bigger battery due to its larger screen. There were a couple of years when the Plus model outperformed the Pro Max in terms of overall battery life, but it was still very competitive.
The good news is that with no Plus model this year, the iPhone 17 Pro Max undoubtedly has the best battery life of any iPhone in the collection, and quite possibly any iPhone to date.
The iPhone 17 Pro Max’s 5,088mAh cell is 8.6% larger than that of last year’s 4,685mAh iPhone 16 Pro Max, which Apple claims can deliver up to 37 hours of video playback – a four-hour increase over its predecessor.
However, as with the iPhone 17 and 17 Pro, you can extend battery life by two more hours by opting for the eSIM-only variant of the phone, if available in your region.
Which iPhone is best for battery life?
While video playback and real-world use are two very different things – and what you do on your phone will impact the battery life – it’s clear that the iPhone 17 Pro Max has the potential to last longer than any other model of iPhone 17.
It boasts the largest battery capacity in the range, surpassing the already impressive iPhone 16 Pro Max, and can be further extended if you opt for the eSIM-only variant of the top-end smartphone.
That said, we’ll be putting the entire iPhone 17 collection to the test in the coming weeks, so we’ll report back once we know more.
