All iPhone 17 models were put up against each other in extensive battery test to see which is actually best

When it launched the iPhone 17, Apple claimed that there would be a ’35 percent’ increase in battery duration – but when all models were compared through rigorous testing, the winner wasn’t quite as clear cut as you might think.

As we grow ever more tech-reliant in our day-to-day habits, doomscrolling, AI companion chatting, and filming everything, battery life has become more paramount than ever.

Apple realizes this and has tried to make its flagship iPhone 17 as long-lasting as possible.

But are its claims of having a ’35 percent’ increase from the 16 actually true? And how does it compare to a Samsung Galaxy? Well, one man has now run a side-by-side test to reveal the results.

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Putting the iPhone 17 fleet through an extensive battery test versus older generations

The bold claims from Apple that your new phones will last over a third longer seemed hard to believe, with promises of a better charge every time a new generation comes out.

The manufacturer doubled down on its claims, though, saying the iPhone 17 Pro will be better than the iPhone 16 Pro Max.

However, iOS 26 followed soon after the new generation’s release, and with it came warnings that it would drain battery life more quickly.

Since then, tech gurus have been testing the iPhone 17 models’ lifetime, and now popular creator Mrwhosetheboss has lined up seven of the current models to undertake the most extensive battery test yet.

The lineup featured an iPhone 17, 17 Pro, 17 Pro Max, and the Air, all of which are the latest models from Apple with this improved battery tech.

Then, he put them against the base iPhone 16, the 16 Pro Max, and the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, for comparison.

His test saw the phones all undertake similar habits of YouTube video watching, playing games, recording high-definition videos, and chatting in groups, all while sitting side by side for fairness.

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Which model should win?

New models always promise bigger and better things. The iPhone fleet has big claims that not only should the 17 Pro Max beat the 16 Pro Max by nearly 20 percent, but the base models should be drastically different.

However, there were some caveats to the test.

Apple’s bold claims were for those models designed with the eSim philosophy. The YouTuber in question here is UK-based, and they only use the physical sims.

Here, the sim card tray takes away from the full capacity of the iPhone 17 battery, meaning the benefits of the new model won’t be as clear.

The winner is…

To little surprise, the iPhone 17 Pro Max ran the longest and was an outright winner.

But the winning margin was a lot closer than you might think. It drained completely in 13 hours flat, which was 45 minutes longer than the 16 Pro Max – just a 6.4 percent improvement.

Still, both were better than the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, which died just before the 12-hour mark.

As for the base models, the margin, which should have been substantially higher, saw only a minor improvement – 6.8 percent longer.

iPhone 17 extensive battery test results:

1. iPhone 17 Pro Max: 13h 00m
2. iPhone 16 Pro Max: 12h 13m
3. Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra: 11h 58m
4. iPhone 17 Pro: Just above 10h 28m
5. iPhone 17: 10h 28m
6. iPhone 16: 9h 48m
7. iPhone Air: 7h 18m

With a minimum running time of seven hours and 18 minutes, the iPhone Air’s smaller titanium body doesn’t have a battery that can compete, and drains massively when recording 4K resolution videos.

Still, the new iPhone 17 models were clear winners and proved that Apple is heading in the right direction.

And, the YouTuber did claim that the eSim variants would continue to improve on the iPhone 17’s winning margin.

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