USB-C iPhone 15: Apple's biggest battery upgrades ever leaving Android in the dust?

• The battery in iPhone 15 is getting 18% larger than the one in iPhone 14
• The battery in iPhone 15 Plus is getting 14% larger than the one in iPhone 14 Plus
• The battery in iPhone 15 Pro is getting 14% larger than the one in iPhone 14 Pro
• The battery in iPhone 15 Pro Max is getting 12% larger than the one in iPhone 14 Pro Max

Simple maths would suggest iPhone 15 should last 18% longer than iPhone 14, while iPhone 15 Plus should last 14% longer than iPhone 15 Plus, and so on… But it’s not all that simple, because we also must take into account the pure efficiency coming with the upgraded chips in iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max.



Although it’s difficult to estimate exactly how much more efficient than the A16 the new A17 Bionic will be, it’s safe to assume at least some efficiency gains are to be expected when switching from 5nm to 3nm chips. In fact, I’m willing to bet the noticeable increase in battery size and switch to 3nm could result in 20-30% better battery life across the entire iPhone 15 lineup.

But how did I come up with that number? Well, Apple’s future can often be predicted by looking at the company’s past. Remember, iPhone 13 Pro Max had an 18% larger battery than the iPhone 12 Pro Max and although both of Apple's large flagships came with 5nm chips, the 13 Pro Max had dramatically better battery life compared to its predecessor. Our comparison showed an average of 2.5h longer endurance on the 13 Pro.

The noticeably larger batteries and the big jump in processing efficiency should/might contribute to even greater gains in overall battery endurance on iPhone 15 models compared to prior iPhones and, of course, Android flagships like the Galaxy and Pixel. Meanwhile, Samsung and Google wouldn't be exactly thrilled to see this pan out as they’ll need to up their game significantly with the Pixel 8 and Galaxy S24 series. But why not! Competition is what we need anyway.

Larger batteries in iPhone 15 series might be hinting at faster wired/wireless charging, Reverse Wireless Charging, and larger MagSafe battery pack for some iPhone 15 models

Larger batteries are great but what other battery life and charging improvements could iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max bring to the table? I’d like to take a moment and try to predict what the alleged increase in battery size could mean for the rest of the hardware upgrades in iPhone 15… Take it all with a grain of salt.

For example, I wouldn’t rule out the possibility of faster wired/MagSafe charging on iPhone 15 compared to iPhone 14. Don’t forget that USB-C is pretty much confirmed to be coming to iPhone 15, which could easily facilitate a long-awaited jump in iPhone charging speeds.

That being said, I wouldn’t get my hopes too high up, as Apple (being Apple) will likely want to keep the same “50% in 30 minutes” charging rule that Tim Cook & Co love so much, meaning the iPhone 15 series’ charging speeds might be upgraded according to the increase in battery size - in other words, just enough. In practice, I don’t expect much more than 30W wired/wireless charging across the entire iPhone 15 lineup.