Battery life is one of the key factors to consider when we assess a phone. With the release of the iPhone 18 Pro Max Apple posted impressive numbers, but what about in real-world use? At CNET they put Apple’s specs to the test and, after 120 hours of testing with 32 phones from Apple, Samsung, Motorola, and Google, the new iPhone 18 Pro Max came out on top.
A bigger battery and excellent power efficiency that puts Apple well ahead of the competition
To compile the ranking, CNET carried out two different tests on each device. First, three hours of video with Wi‑Fi on and maximum brightness, then 45 minutes of intensive use with games, video calls, and social media. In both, the phones started at 100% and the results were averaged to establish the ranking.
In the intensive test, the iPhone 18 Pro Max lost just 1% of battery, tying with the iPhone Duo. The iPhone 18 Pro, meanwhile, led in the video test using only 6% battery.
The huge battery size of the 18 Pro Max, which we’ve already seen in its teardown, pairs extremely well with the efficiency of the A20 Pro chip and the optimizations that were introduced in iOS 27.
With these results, Apple tops the manufacturer rankings for the second year in a row. The iPhone 17 and the iPhone 17e also perform well. In fact, average battery life has hardly changed compared with 2024 and 2025.
What has changed is that we can do more and more with our devices. From taking better photos to watching those same videos on ever higher-quality screens.
