Best iPhone Battery Life Ranked [2023]

Battery life is one of the most important aspects of a smartphone. After all, you can’t use your phone if it has no juice. We’re here the help you find out once and for all which iPhone is the real battery king.

Is it worth upgrading to the iPhone 15 for the battery alone?

It depends which iPhone you’re currently using. When comparing the base model iPhone 15 to the iPhone 14, there’s not a significant difference. But when you compare the Plus & Pro to the base models, you'll feel a tangible boost in battery life.

How does battery life compare between models?

Most people look at Apple’s own data when researching battery life performance. But we’ve gone one better.

Say hello to MrWhoseTheBoss. He’s a tech Youtuber who set up an impartial test comparing the battery life of all the current iPhones, simulating actual daily usage through music streaming, gaming, app switching, and much more. The winner being the last iPhone standing.

You can watch MrWhoseTheBoss - iPhone 15 Pro Max vs 15 Pro / 15 Plus / 15 / 14 / 13 Battery Test here.

Latest iPhones ranked by battery life

1st – iPhone 15 Plus – 13hrs 19mins

2nd – iPhone 15 Pro Max – 11hrs 41mins

3rd – iPhone 13 Pro Max – 11hrs 19mins

4th – iPhone 14 Pro Max – 10hrs 54mins

5th – iPhone 15 – 9hrs 57mins

6th – iPhone 15 Pro – 9hrs 20mins

7th – iPhone 14 – 9hrs 2mins

These results stack up as you’d expect with the higher-end models providing the best battery life. But there are anomalies...

It's easy to see why the iPhone 13 Pro Max is the fan favourite, as it survived 25 extra minutes when compared to the newer iPhone 14 Pro Max. And the iPhone 15 Plus had the longest battery life, despite having a slightly smaller battery size than the iPhone 15 Pro Max.

The only thing we can put this down to is the iPhone 15 Pro Max's souped-up A17 Pro chip and graphics processor, which draws more power.

iPhone battery sizes

If you want to jump into the specs, you can see the battery size of the latest iPhones below.

• 1st – iPhone 15 Pro Max - 4,422mAh
• 2nd – iPhone 15 Plus - 4,383mAh
• 3rd - iPhone 13 Pro Max - 4,352mAh
• 4th – iPhone 14 Pro Max – 4,323mAh
• 5th – iphone 15 - 3,349 mAh
• 6th – iPhone 14 – 3,279mAh
• 7th – iPhone 15 Pro - 3,274mAh

What are milliampere hours: Phone batteries are measured using milliampere hour. Milliampere hours are commonly used to describe the energy charge that a battery will hold and how long a device will run before the battery needs recharging.

Which iPhone has the best battery life?

The iPhone 15 Plus has the best battery life.

However, we think most people would be well served by last year’s iPhone 14 Pro Max or iPhone 13 Pro Max, which offers a mix of good value and battery stamina.

If you really want to double down on your savings, you can grab a refurbished iPhone from our partner Reboxed - Go through SMARTY & get an extra £40 off.

All refurbished phones from Reboxed are put through a comprehensive 70-point check before being sold. Including a battery health assessment that covers:

• Cycle Count
• Power On
• Health Percentage
• Battery Resistance Reading
• Battery Full Charge Reading
• Battery Temperature Range Reading

Choosing a Reboxed iPhone could save you up to £899* compared to buying new. Guarantying great battery life and a cash saving. Who could argue with that!

Want more tips on how to save money on your next iPhone? Read 5 ways to save money on your next iPhone.

*Save up to £899 on iPhones correct as at 25th September 2023.