For several years, Apple has ruled the roost regarding battery life. Whether we're talking laptops or smartphones, Apple devices were lightyears ahead in some cases in this regard. However, times are changing, and I have been shocked by what I see.
Our lab has been testing the recently launched Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra. as well as completing testing on the OnePlus 12, both featuring the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, and the battery test results will shock you! I had to catch my breath; it was that shocking. Neither device matched the iPhone 15 Pro Max; they leapfrogged it entirely. So, let's have a look at the numbers.
The results
Now, let's be clear: the iPhone 15 Pro Max has the smallest battery of our group at just 4,441 mAh. At the same time, our Samsung Galaxy S24 (5,000 mAh) and OP12 (5,400 mAh) may give them an edge, but how are both Samsung and OnePlus able to get larger batteries and better cameras ( a debate for another day) into similarly sized phones? The OnePlus 12 is thinner.
However, the iPhone does feature Apple's Bionic 17 3nm chipset, and at the time, it was definitely the world's most advanced and overpowered smartphone chipset, but does that still hold? The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 is proving to be quite a beast of a chipset itself, and like its counterpart, it is highly optimized to deliver excellent battery life.
I have yet to mention this next device because its test results are from another planet, but since it shares the same Snapdragon chipset, I will share the mind-blowing battery test results for the Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro.
| iPhone 15 Pro Max | iPhone 15 Pro Max | SG S24 Ultra | OnePlus 12 | Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CPU | Apple A17 Pro | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 |
| Dimensions | 6.30 x 3.02 x 0.33 in | 6.39 x 3.11 x 0.34 in | 6.47 x 2.98 x 0.36 in | 6.45 x 3.02 x 0.35 in |
| Battery size | 4441 mAh | 5000 mAh | 5400 mAh | 5500 mAh |
| Test Results | 14:02 | 16:45 | 17:18 | 18:57 |
As we can all see, the S24 lasted 2 hours and 43 minutes longer than the iPhone 15 Pro Max, with the OnePlus 12 lasting 3 hours and 16 minutes longer, and the Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro crushed the iPhone 15 Pro Max by lasting 4 hours and 55 minutes longer during lab testing. The numbers represent a giant leap past the iPhone for best battery life.
I am sure people will say, "But they have larger batteries!" This is true. However, they're all roughly the same size. The devices are all between 0.33 and 0.36 inches thick—approximately the same length and width.
What consumers should be asking is, why can't Apple get a larger battery in the iPhone 15 Pro Max? Is it flawed engineering? Who knows, however, what the numbers tell us is Apple is no longer the battery life champion it once was.
Battery life is something consumers seriously take into consideration when purchasing a device that costs more than my first three cars.
Preference will rule supreme, but we had to share these results with our readers so they can make educated and informed decisions when purchasing their next phones.
