As expected from late-breaking rumors, Apple has made significant improvements to battery life with the new iPhone 16 lineup, increasing battery life for all phones over their predecessors in the iPhone 15 lineup. Every 2024 device gets at least an extra hour of video playback, and the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro Max models see even bigger gains, especially in video streaming and audio playback.
Record autonomy
In addition to the one to four hour gain in offline video, video streaming also benefits from an additional two to four hours depending on the model. The iPhone 16 Pro models, meanwhile, offer longer audio playback than their previous counterparts, with over ten hours, making them a top choice for users who consume a lot of media content. Apple notes that these battery life figures are maximum estimates, as they depend on individual usage of the device.
Here is the estimated battery life for the different models in the iPhone 16 range:
- iPhone 16: 22 hours of video playback, 18 hours of video streaming, 80 hours of audio.
- iPhone 16 Plus: 27 hours of video playback, 24 hours of video streaming, 100 hours of audio.
- iPhone 16 Pro: 27 hours of video playback, 22 hours of video streaming, 85 hours of audio.
- iPhone 16 Pro Max: 33 hours of video playback, 29 hours of video streaming, 105 hours of audio.
The autonomy announced for the previous iPhone 15:
- iPhone 15: 20 hours of video playback, 16 hours of video streaming, 80 hours of audio.
- iPhone 15 Plus: 26 hours of video playback, 20 hours of video streaming, 100 hours of audio.
- iPhone 15 Pro: 23 hours of video playback, 20 hours of video streaming, 75 hours of audio.
- iPhone 15 Pro Max: 29 hours of video playback, 25 hours of video streaming, 95 hours of audio.
Apple is putting a big emphasis on these battery life gains this year, and even offers a comparison tool on its product pages that allows users to see the differences in battery life between the new iPhone 16 and older models. For example, someone upgrading from an iPhone 12 to an iPhone 16 could get an extra five to 15 hours of battery life depending on their usage.
In short, the iPhone 16 and its counterparts have record battery life for the American brand.
Faster charging
In addition to these battery life improvements, the new iPhone 16 models support 25W fast wireless charging when paired with one of Apple’s new MagSafe chargers and a 30W or higher adapter. This is the first time fast charging has been available in wireless mode, allowing you to recharge the battery to 50% in just 30 minutes. The Qi2 standard is also still supported for wireless charging, although it remains limited to 15W, as with previous-generation MagSafe models. This makes charging easier in any situation.