(Photo: Molly Flores/PCMag)
Apple wasn't kidding when it said the iPhone 13 line has better battery life than previous models. In my tests as part of my ongoing iPhone 13 series review, I found that the new phones have significantly better battery life than previous models—and that the iPhone 13 Pro Max has the longest battery life I've ever seen on an iPhone.
Our battery test runs a video over Wi-Fi until the phone's battery runs out. It's crude, but it can be done relatively automatically and it's comparable between devices over time.
Apple was careful not to promise any specific battery life on the new iPhones. I think that's because of 5G. Depending on 5G frequency and signal quality, the battery life you get can be much shorter than you see here—and the 5G situation is so confusing across different carriers and countries that I don't think Apple was willing to make a generalization. Of course, you can always turn off 5G.
There was a big break between the iPhone 11 and iPhone 12 series in our battery tests, because of some change in the iPhone's hardware or software. Before the iPhone 12, the phones generally got six hours of screen time or less; the 12 series boosted that to nine-plus hours.
But the big news here is the difference between the iPhone 12 series and the iPhone 13 series, and the difference between the various iPhone 13 models. I burned myself recommending the iPhone 12 mini last year. It sold poorly, in part because of having the shortest battery life of its family. But the iPhone 13 mini has better battery life than the standard iPhone 12. All the 13-series models have significant battery improvements over the previous phones.
And look at that iPhone 13 Pro Max battery result—it's spectacular. I'd previously said that the iPhone 12 Pro Max had the best battery life of any iPhone ever. The 13 Pro Max crushes it—this is real two-day battery life.
I'm going to have to mull over how much this means for my final review. Last year I rated the 12 Pro Max down because I was so entranced by the portability and flexibility of the smaller models. But people really like battery life, and the 13 Pro Max has it, in spades. What do you think?
PCMag iPhone 13 Special: Apple Event Analysis
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