One of the reasons why customers opt for Apple’s iPhone Pro Max is the larger battery. The current iPhone 15 Pro Max offers up to 29 hours of video playback and this could improve with the upcoming iPhone 16 Pro Max.
According to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple’s high-end iPhone benefits from an increase in battery life, but not by making the battery bigger: it will remain the same size as the 15 Pro Max . Kuo reports that Apple has increased the energy density (basically the amount of charge it can hold), which extends battery life. Kuo offers no information on increased life.
Due to the increase in energy density, the battery temperature will be higher when operating. Kuo says Apple will use a “stainless steel battery case as a thermal solution” for the first time. The internal casing will also provide “better iPhone battery and system protection.” The new case also makes battery removal easier, helping Apple comply with European Union requirements for replaceable batteries.
Kuo says that if this new battery implementation works well, Apple will use it in all of its new iPhones in 2025.
Kuo’s report follows reports involving mockups of the iPhone 16 Pro Max that show the phone will be larger than the current iPhone 15 Pro Max. If Kuo’s report is accurate (it often is, but he has missed it several times), then the implementation of the new internal steel casing for the battery could explain the increase in size. Check out our iPhone 16 guide for the latest on Apple’s next iPhone.
