iPhone 15 leak suggests 15% increase in battery capacity — but does it matter?

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By Momo Tabari
published

Battery capacity doesn't always translate to longevity

iPhone 15 battery increase
(Image credit: Future/Snappa)

Apple's iPhone 15 series leaks are plentiful — so much so that we've got a good idea of what the highly anticipated phone will look like (see our iPhone 15 rumor hub). The latest gossip suggests that this iPhone series could see a massive boost in battery capacity, potentially increasing longevity along with it.

Twitter leaker AppleTrack claims to have information regarding the battery capacity expected of each iPhone 15 model, including the base iPhone 15 (3877 mAh), iPhone 15 Plus (4,912 mAh), iPhone 15 Pro (3,650 mAh), and iPhone 15 Pro Max (4,852 mAh). This is a 11 to 15% increase in battery capacity, but how will that manifest in minutes and hours of longevity?

What does iPhone 15's increased battery mean?

AppleTrack's leak suggests the base model has a 15% larger battery capacity, but it doesn't automatically it'll last 15% longer than previous iPhone models. Battery life is complicated, and capacity doesn't account for how much juice the latest specs might consume. 

We measured the iPhone 14 Pro as lasting for 10 hours and 13 minutes with its 3,200 mAh battery capacity on the Laptop Mag battery test, which involves continuous web surfing at 150 nits on cellular. But even though the iPhone 13 Pro boasts a 3,095 mAh battery capacity, it lasted a total of 12 hours on the same test. Even with the increased capacity, the older phone survived nearly two whole hours longer.

The same could be said of the iPhone 15 series when it eventually launches, as its rumored increase to 3,650 mAh battery capacity isn't indicative of practical longevity. We might see an identical 10-or-so hours of longevity, although we're hoping this leak is the first inkling of more exciting test results.

It's entirely possible that this newest model consumes more power than ever before and needed a larger battery to compensate. Of course, it's also possible that the battery life will be stellar due to this increase. We won't know until we get to test the iPhone 15 phones ourselves.

Momo Tabari
Momo Tabari
Contributing Writer

Self-described art critic and unabashedly pretentious, Momo finds joy in impassioned ramblings about her closeness to video games. She has a bachelor’s degree in Journalism & Media Studies from Brooklyn College and five years of experience in entertainment journalism. Momo is a stalwart defender of the importance found in subjectivity and spends most days overwhelmed with excitement for the past, present and future of gaming. When she isn't writing or playing Dark Souls, she can be found eating chicken fettuccine alfredo and watching anime.