Apple has just announced the new flagship iPhone lineup, featuring iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Duo. One of the biggest improvements is battery life.
In fact, Apple says this generation represents the biggest jump in battery life iPhone history ever. So let’s break down what’s changed …
Apple says the boosts to battery life on the new iPhones is achieved through a combination of new physical internal battery designs, improved efficiency due to the new A20 Pro chip, and system software optimizations.
Obviously, real-world battery life will be put to the test when reviewers get their hands on the new iPhones. For now, we can go off the spec sheets which we can demonstrate the relative increases.
Apple provides battery life stats in terms of hours of streaming video playback to compare with earlier models.
iPhone 18 Pro vs iPhone 17 Pro battery life
For reference, iPhone 17 Pro touts up to 30 hours streaming video playback and iPhone 17 Pro Max gets up to 35 hours streaming video playback.
With iPhone 18 Pro, the claimed longevity is 33 hours streaming video playback. That’s a 10% improvement compared to iPhone 17 Pro.
For the Max size, battery life goes from 35 hours to a claimed 40 hours streaming video playback on iPhone 18 Pro Max. That’s an increase of about 14%.
Apple also provided a new battery life metric for the 18 series that attempts to more closely represent real-world usage, than just video playback. This includes a variety of activities like messaging, taking photos, playing games, web browsing, and more, based on what it knows people actually use their iPhones for.
On that benchmark, iPhone 18 Pro Max will apparently be able to last for 30 hours on a single charge. iPhone 18 Pro achieves 24 hours under the same conditions.
The above figures are based on the iPhone 18 Pro models with eSIM, such as those sold inside the United States. The models sold in many international markets still accommodate a physical SIM tray, which impinges on battery life a little: Apple says the non-eSIM versions get 2 hours less streaming video playback.
iPhone Duo battery life
Obviously, a lot of attention today is on the shiny new iPhone Duo, Apple’s first foldable phone. The Duo actually incorporates two battery cells, one in each side of the device. But it also has to power two displays, including the inner 7.8-inch display that is the biggest ever in an iPhone by a significant margin.
However, its claimed battery life is still respectable. Apple claims users can expect 26 hours streaming video playback when using the large inner display, and up to 37 hours when using the outer display. Assuming heavy usage of the inner display, the Duo’s battery life is roughly equivalent to the iPhone 17 Pro — based on these published numbers.
We’ll know more exactly how the iPhone Duo fares in terms of all-day battery life when people start getting them in their hands. While the iPhone 18 Pro goes up for preorder this weekend, the Duo does not go on sale until October 23, so we’ve still got to wait a little bit for hands-on impressions.
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