The iPhone 17 series is nearly here – we’re expecting full reveals for the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max at Apple’s “Awe Dropping” event on September 9 (that’s today at the time of writing!).
Of those new models, it’s perhaps the biggest year for the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, which are both tipped to get a major redesign, a faster new chipset, and some neat camera improvements, meaning they could be some of the best iPhones ever released.
On top of that, a last-minute rumor suggests that the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are both due to get substantial battery upgrades, alongside a smaller bump for the regular iPhone 17.
As we recently reported, leaker ShrimpApplePro shared supposed battery capacities for both the eSIM-only and SIM tray-sporting models of the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max, and though these figures are as-yet unconfirmed, they do give us a speculative idea of how well the new iPhone models might fare in terms of battery life.
Notably, it looks like the eSIM-only iPhone 17 Pro Max will be the first iPhone to sport a 5,000mAh battery (5,088mAh to be precise). That 5,000mAh mark has long been considered the threshold for truly ‘large’ batteries in flagship phones.
Check out the table below for ShrimpApplePro’s full list of rumored iPhone 17 series battery capacities.
|
Model |
Without eSIM |
With eSIM |
|---|---|---|
|
iPhone 17 |
3692mAh (up 3.7% vs iPhone 16) |
3692mAh (up 3.7% vs iPhone 16) |
|
iPhone 17 Air |
3036mAh |
3149mAh (down 33% vs iPhone 16 Plus) |
|
iPhone 17 Pro |
3988mAh |
4252mAh (up 18.7% vs iPhone 16 Pro) |
|
iPhone 17 Pro Max |
4823mAh |
5088mAh (up 8.6% vs iPhone 16 Pro Max) |
As mentioned, 5,000mAh has been the gold standard for large flagship Android phones for quite a while. This latest iPhone battery rumor begs the question of how the best Android phones might compare.
Catching up to the competition
For this comparison, I’ve put each iPhone model up against its closest competitors from the Samsung S25 series and Google Pixel 10 lineup, as well as the previous-generation iPhone model for reference. I’ve used the larger eSIM-only capacities from the table above.
|
iPhone 17 |
iPhone 16 |
Samsung Galaxy S25 |
Google Pixel 10 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
3,692mAh |
3,561mAh |
4,000mAh |
4,970mAh |
|
iPhone 17 Pro |
iPhone 16 Pro |
Samsung Galaxy S25 |
Google Pixel 10 Pro |
|---|---|---|---|
|
4,252mAh |
3,582mAh |
4,000mAh |
4,870mAh |
|
iPhone 17 Pro Max |
iPhone 16 Pro Max |
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra |
Google Pixel 10 Pro XL |
|---|---|---|---|
|
5,088mAh |
4,685mAh |
5,000mAh |
5,200mAh |
As Google doesn’t produce a thin and light version of the Google Pixel 10, we’ve left it out of the iPhone 17 Air comparison.
|
iPhone 17 Air |
iPhone 16 Plus |
Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge |
|---|---|---|
|
3,149mAh |
4,674mAh |
3,900mAh |
From these rumored figures, it seems that the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max will finally match their main rivals when it comes to battery capacity, while the iPhone 17 could still lag a bit behind Samsung and Google.
It’s worth remembering that the iPhone 16 series already offers comparable battery life to the Samsung Galaxy S25 series and Google Pixel 10 series, so equalizing the listed capacity could actually give Apple a battery life advantage.
We’ll be testing the new iPhones as soon as we have them, so keep an eye on our iPhone coverage for our analysis.
It’s also worth noting that other phone makers, particularly those based in China, are pushing far ahead when it comes to battery tech. A great example is our pick for the best Android phone, the OnePlus 13, which sports a 6,000mAh battery.
The iPhone 17 Air could bring a battery downgrade
As the tables above suggest, the iPhone 17 Air could be the only model in the new lineup to face a battery downgrade versus its previous iteration.
As noted, the iPhone 17 Air could come with a 3,149mAh battery for the eSIM model and a 3,036mAh battery for the model with a SIM tray, which is as much as 42.5% smaller than the 4,674mAh battery found in the iPhone 16 Plus.
This seems to corroborate previous rumors that suggested the iPhone 17 Air will suffer worse battery life than its predecessor, a necessary compromise to achieve its slim and light design.
Apple has definitely been known to put form over function in the past (remember the 2015 MacBook?), but I personally think a model so exclusively focused on aesthetics and ergonomics might struggle to find broad appeal.
What do you make of these rumored iPhone 17 series battery capacities? Let us know in the comments below.
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jamie.richards@futurenet.com (Jamie Richards)
