Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

We put the last 4 iPhones through a battery beatdown

By Brie Barbee and David Cogen Published April 25, 2023

How does the battery in the iPhone X compare to that of its predecessors? Is it better? Worse? The same? Is investing in a new phone really worth it if you’re only considering battery life? Well, we ran a quick test to find out.

Recommended Videos

Apple’s website claims the battery in the iPhone X can last up to two hours longer than that in the iPhone 7. And although the iPhone 7 wasn’t actually one of the phones we tested, that kind of power could theoretically allow for up to 12 hours of continuous internet use or 60 hours of wireless audio playback. But did it stack up?

Taking into consideration equal usage, we made sure all four of the phones we were testing — i.e., the iPhone X, 8 Plus, 7 Plus, and 6S Plus — were connected to the same Wi-Fi network and had their screens set to 50-percent brightness. We also ensured each was utilizing the same account, so they would receive notifications at the same time. Once set up, we streamed a 10-hour Nyan cat video and waited to see which order the phones died in.

Battery Test Results

1st: iPhone X
2nd: iPhone 6S Plus
3rd: iPhone 8 Plus
4th: iPhone 7 Plus

Battery life didn’t vary substantially across devices — there was only a two-hour difference between the first and last place phones. The phone that came out on top, however, was the iPhone X, which stayed alive for 9 and a half hours. The 6S Plus (surprisingly) came in second place with 8 hours and 47 minutes, the 8 Plus in third with 7 hours and 46 minutes, and the 7 Plus with 7 hours and 22 minutes.

It’s hard to make any definitive assumptions based on these results, though. While the 6S Plus coming in second was definitely unusual considering it is the oldest phone in our lineup, this entire experiment calls into question which activities and hardware actually drain a battery the quickest.

The iPhone 7 Plus touts a 2,9000mAh battery — the largest battery ever placed in an iPhone — yet it showcased the worst battery life of any device in our lineup. This also brings up questions regarding screen size, since the X was the smallest phone of the lot.

how to take a screenshot on an iPhone X — Digital Trends

In another smartphone test, we pitted all the major flagship phones against one another in a battery test, and the iPhone X came in last place. The iPhone X may not be able to compete with other leading phones on the market, sure, but it still got first place in our experiment. Why is this? We’re not entirely sure.

Frequent use of the facial unlocking feature on the iPhone X might drain its battery faster, but we didn’t use it in our last experiment, and there are tons of other factors that might affect a smartphone’s battery life.

At the end of the day, however, if battery life is your priority, you’re better off reevaluating your battery usage than buying a newer model.

David Cogen — a regular contributor here at Digital Trends — runs TheUnlockr.com, a popular tech blog that focuses on tech news, tips and tricks, and the latest tech. You can also find him over at Twitter discussing the latest tech trends.

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Brie is a writer from Portland, Oregon. She received a bachelor's degree from Portland State University in 2016, where she…

Mobile

Samsung is catching up to the iPhone in an unexpected way

A person holding a Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and an Apple iPhone 15 Pro.

It's a well-known fact that Apple products retain value for much longer than non-Apple products. Or is it? According to recent data from SellCell, things might be changing.

According to its report, SellCell says that iPhones still hold their value better than the competition, but they depreciate faster with every new release. At the same time, Samsung's flagship models have begun to last a little longer. In fact — and get ready for a lot of numbers — the iPhone has seen almost a 5% drop in value year-over-year since the iPhone 12 was released — and the iPhone 16 is losing value 8% faster than the iPhone 15 and has lost an average of 41.2% of its value in the first two weeks since release. That's a much greater loss than the iPhone 14 and 15 models, at 33% and 33.2%, respectively.

Mobile

A microscopic change may give the iPhone 18 huge performance gains

iPhone 16 Pro Max in Desert Titanium.

Apple is poised to make a significant change with the iPhone 18 when the series arrives in 2026. A reliable source on Weibo suggests that the tech giant will leverage TSMC's cutting-edge 2-nanometer fabrication process for the A20 chip powering these devices. This advancement promises a significant boost in performance and efficiency.

Furthermore, the iPhone 18 series is rumored to be the first to feature 12GB of RAM across the board, which would be a substantial upgrade from the current 8GB RAM in the iPhone 16 lineup. This increase in memory capacity will enable smoother multitasking and enhanced performance for demanding applications.

Mobile

The next iPhone SE may be missing a key iPhone 16 feature

iPhone SE

It seems like more information about the iPhone SE 4 is released every week, and that's saying something when we already know quite a bit about this gadget. An image of an iPhone SE 4 case has hit the web, courtesy of known leaker Sonny Dickson, and it matches what we've come to expect with one big difference: there's no cutout for the Action button.

We know the iPhone SE 4 will likely resemble the iPhone 14, but some rumors have mentioned an Action button similar to what the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 offer. If you take a look at the image below, you'll see the cutout where the Action button should usually go. It looks more like it's designed for a silent/mute toggle switch.