iPhone 17 Pro Max beats S25 Ultra in battery test
What's the story
Apple's latest flagship, the iPhone 17 Pro Max, has been crowned the longest-lasting smartphone in a popular battery life test by tech YouTuber Mrwhosetheboss. The device lasted an impressive 13 hours in a simulated daily-use scenario, beating Samsung's Galaxy S25 Ultra, which lasted just under 12 hours. The test included activities like scrolling through TikTok and X, sending Slack messages, listening to Spotify, and recording videos.
Test details
Test conducted on UK model with physical SIM tray
The test was done on the UK version of the iPhone 17 Pro Max, which still has a physical SIM tray. The eSIM-only model sold in the US and other markets has a slightly bigger battery and would have lasted at least another half an hour longer. Apple's entire iPhone 17 lineup performed well in this test, with the Air model lasting for seven hours and 18 minutes before shutting down.
Performance comparison
Last-gen iPhone also outperformed Samsung's flagship
Even the last-gen iPhone 16 Pro Max, which debuted in 2024, outperformed Samsung's latest Ultra model in this test, lasting for 12 hours and 15 minutes. This indicates that Apple's improvements over the past year have added an extra one to two hours of battery life in real-world usage scenarios.
Battery expectations
Official rating v/s real-world performance
Apple officially rates the iPhone 17 Pro Max for up to 35 hours of video playback on a single charge. However, such numbers are based on controlled conditions with the Apple TV app. In real-world usage, where smartphones run multiple demanding apps at once, battery life is usually much shorter. This makes the 13-hour figure more representative of actual performance than Apple's official rating.