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iPhone 18 Pro Max’s new battery gains revealed by leaker

iPhone 17 Pro Max’s best-ever battery has been a hit with users, and we’ve heard before that iPhone 18 Pro Max will boast an even bigger battery. Now, thanks to a new leak, we know how much bigger.

iPhone 18 Pro Max battery capacity is even higher than the current reigning champion

Battery life

Apple’s iPhone 17 Pro Max recently earned the crown for having the best battery life of any smartphone. CNET pitted Apple’s flagship against 34 other smartphones, and it was deemed the best.

But it sounds like Apple will extend that lead this fall when the iPhone 18 Pro Max debuts.

Per a new post from Weibo leaker Digital Chat Station, Apple’s forthcoming model is expected to have a battery capacity of about 5000 mAh for models with a SIM slot, and nearly 5200 mAh for eSIM-only models.

Here’s how that compares to the current reigning champion:

  • iPhone 17 Pro Max: 4823 mAh with SIM slot, 5088 mAh for eSIM models
  • iPhone 18 Pro Max: ~5000 mAh with SIM slot, ~5200 mAh for eSIM models

These aren’t huge gains, but as CNET’s battery test proved, battery capacity isn’t everything.

The iPhone 18 line will also benefit from the new A20 Pro chip, which thanks to a cutting-edge 2nm process is expected to be more power-efficient than ever.

Additionally, the C2 modem rumored for Apple’s new iPhones will likely come with battery boosts too—just as the C1 and C1X have for the iPhone 16e and iPhone Air, respectively.

Battery life is one of the most important features for the average user, and it sounds like Apple plans to keep delivering exactly what users want.

How do you feel about iPhone 18 Pro Max getting thicker for an even bigger battery? Let us know in the comments.

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Avatar for Ryan Christoffel Ryan Christoffel

Ryan got his start in journalism as an Editor at MacStories, where he worked for four years covering Apple news, writing app reviews, and more. For two years he co-hosted the Adapt podcast on Relay FM, which focused entirely on the iPad. As a result, it should come as no surprise that his favorite Apple device is the iPad Pro.