SAN FRANCISCO, Feb 5, 2026, 03:24 (PST)
- iPhone 17 Pro Max ranked first in battery life in a 35-smartphone test run by CNET, according to reports
- Base iPhone 17 tied the OnePlus 15 for second place despite a much smaller battery capacity
- Apple led the brand-average scores in the same test, the reports said
Apple’s iPhone 17 Pro Max finished top in battery life in a CNET test of 35 smartphones, beating phones with much larger batteries and putting Apple ahead on a brand-average basis, tech sites reported. The base iPhone 17 tied the OnePlus 15 for second place despite carrying a far smaller battery, they said. (9to5Mac)
Battery life has turned into a deciding feature again as phones take on more work — video, navigation, messaging, gaming — and buyers push back on daily charging. One report pointed to a CNET/YouGov survey from September 2025 in which readers ranked longer battery life as the top reason to buy a new phone, behind only price.
The testing matters because it cuts through battery-size marketing. CNET’s benchmarks used a three-hour video streaming run over Wi‑Fi at full brightness, and a 45‑minute “endurance” session mixing gaming, video, social scrolling and a video call, starting from a full charge, the reports said.
The iPhone 17 Pro Max carried a 5,088 milliamp-hour (mAh) battery — a measure of capacity — and still led the table, the reports said. They credited Apple’s efficiency, pointing to the A19 Pro chip and Apple’s tight hardware-software integration rather than new battery chemistry.
The iPhone 17’s 3,692 mAh battery matched the OnePlus 15 in the same test despite the OnePlus packing a 7,300 mAh cell, according to the reports. The gap is the kind Android makers usually use as a selling point.
On a brand basis, Apple posted an average score of 91.7%, edging OnePlus and landing several points clear of other brands in the roundup, the reports said.
The result sits awkwardly with the wider Android push toward bigger packs. A Times of India roundup this week pointed to 6,000 mAh batteries in Samsung’s Galaxy M35 and Galaxy F15, and a 7,000 mAh battery in the Realme 16 Pro+, while OnePlus models listed there went as high as 7,400 mAh. (The Times of India)
Wccftech framed the ranking as another reminder that capacity does not equal endurance. It pointed to the rise of silicon‑carbon batteries — a chemistry some manufacturers use to fit more energy into the same space — and argued that higher capacity does not automatically translate into longer real-world life, with concerns that some silicon-heavy designs can degrade faster over time. (Wccftech)
There are caveats. Battery benchmarks depend on screen brightness, network conditions, background apps and how testers mix tasks, and small software changes can shift results in either direction.
Still, for Apple, this is the clean pitch it likes: better battery life without chasing the biggest battery spec. For rivals, the takeaway is less comfortable — in this round, efficiency did the heavy lifting.
