iPhone 16 Pro Max lags behind new Android in battery life test
The iPhone 16 Pro Max is a pretty impressive cell phone, with stellar gaming performance and a bunch of AI tricks arriving in the latest iOS 18.1 update. However, Apple has always struggled to outdo the competition when it comes to battery life, and according to a new test, that hasn’t changed with the latest flagship model.
Tech YouTuber TechDroider tested the iPhone 16 Pro Max against the new Xiaomi 15 Pro, as well as some of 2024’s best Android phones, like the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL and OnePlus 12. The new Xiaomi 15 Pro won the battle, lasting almost 12 and a half hours, though the iPhone came in second place, managing just over 11 hours. While not as long-lasting as the Xiaomi, those are pretty decent numbers from the 16 Pro Max, providing more than enough juice to get carried away in some of the best Apple Arcade games.
Admittedly, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that the Xiaomi 15 Pro won out, given that its battery is almost 1,500 mAh bigger than the iPhone 16 Pro Max. It also suggests that the new Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset is more efficient than the 8 Gen 3 processor inside of the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and OnePlus 12. With that in mind, we’ll be looking out to see how the S25 Ultra fares in terms of battery life testing when it arrives next year, as reports suggest it’s packing the same Snapdragon chipset as the new Xiaomi.
While the battery life test mainly concentrated on how long it takes each phone to run out of juice, TechDroider also measured the temperature of each device during constant use, and things aren’t as rosy for Apple in that department. The iPhone 16 Pro Max recorded a temperature of 50°C, which is significantly hotter than the Xiaomi 15 Pro’s 43.8°C. Only the Samsung got hotter, recording a 50.4°C reading. So, if you’re thinking of picking up the Apple flagship for long gaming sessions, you might want to invest in a cooling case or wait for the Xiaomi 15’s expected global launch in 2025 instead.
Of course, it’s worth pointing out that the average user doesn’t use their phone constantly for 11 hours, so the temperature shouldn’t put you off the iPhone 16 Pro Max. Still, if you want to check out some alternatives, our guides to the best gaming phones and the best budget gaming phones are full of fantastic options for mobile gamers.
