Skip to main content

Which iPhone 16 has the best battery life? This test found out

iPhone 16 Pro Max in Desert Titanium.
Christine Romero-Chan / Digital Trends

The iPhone 16 series has been on the market for about 10 days. Third parties have been conducting tests, including benchmarks, on the phones during this time. Recently, Tom’s Guide published its list of the best smartphones in terms of battery life, and it’s no surprise that two of the new iPhone models made the list.

According to the report, the Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro tops the list and offers a fantastic 18 hours and 48 minutes of battery life between charges. This was followed by the OnePlus 12R, which had 18 hours and 42 minutes. The iPhone 16 Pro Max took the third position, with 18 hours and six minutes between charges.

Recommended Videos

Tom’s Guide continuously surfed the web over 5G to conduct its tests until the phone turned off because of a low battery. The phone’s screen was set at 150 nits of brightness during the test. For phones with a fast refresh rate display, the site tested multiple times with that feature turned on and off to provide an idea of the expected battery life.

The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra (16 hours and 45 minutes), Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus (16 hours and 32 minutes), iPhone 16 Plus (16 hours and 29 minutes), Motorola Edge Plus 2023 (15 hours and 47 minutes), and Moto G Stylus 5G 2024 (15 hours one minute) round out the top 10.

The back of the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra.
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

Rounding out the top 15 are the Nothing Phone 2a (15 hours), Google Pixel 9 Pro XL (14 hours and 37 minutes), Motorola Razr 2024 (14 hours and 37 minutes), Moto G 5G 2024 (14 hours and 36 minutes), and Nothing Phone (14 hours and 21 minutes).

In terms of the iPhone 16 Pro Max, Tom’s Guide praised Apple’s decision to add a larger battery compared to last year’s model, as well as the energy efficiency of the phone’s all-new A18 Pro chipset.

It notes: “That’s not enough to outlast some of the gaming phones higher up in this list, like the Asus ROG Phone 8. But considering that phone also has a gargantuan battery, Apple has done pretty darn well to stretch this much life out of the iPhone 16 Pro Max’s battery.”

The report says the iPhone 16 Plus achieved two more hours of usage than the iPhone 15 Plus. It explained that “credit is likely split between the improved power efficiency of the A18 chipset inside the iPhone 16 Plus and the fact that Apple equipped the phone with a bigger battery.”

Apple promises that the iPhone 16 Pro Max and iPhone 16 Plus should last over a day between charges during regular use. That assumes you aren’t continuously using the handsets like Tom’s Guide did during its tests. Based on these tests, Apple has lived up to its promises.

Bryan M. Wolfe
Bryan M. Wolfe has over a decade of experience as a technology writer. He writes about mobile.
Google Gemini arrives on iPhone as a native app
the Google extensions feature on iPhone

Google announced Thursday that it has released a new native Gemini app for iOS that will give iPhone users free, direct access to the chatbot without the need for a mobile web browser.

The Gemini mobile app has been available for Android since February, when the platform transitioned from the older Bard branding. However, iOS users could only access the AI on their phones through either the mobile Google app or via a web browser. This new app provides a more streamlined means of chatting with the bot as well as a host of new (to iOS) features.

Read more
I tried a new Android phone that puts some of the best smartphone cameras to shame
The rear camera setup on the Oppo Find X8 Pro.

It’s been a few years since I was surprised by a smartphone camera’s zoom performance. With Samsung offering 100x zoom on its Galaxy S Ultra lineup, little has shocked me with smartphone cameras — until now.

The Oppo Find X8 series is the successor to the Find X7 series from last year, and alongside several other improvements, there’s also been a significant upgrade in one area: the 30x zoom. Oppo and OnePlus have great cameras at shorter zoom distances, and at a recent briefing, I discovered that we can now add the 30x zoom to the list.

Read more
A must-try Android app has finally arrived on the iPhone
Person holding a phone with Google Gemini Live being shown.

A few days ago, Google Gemini appeared in the Apple App Store for a user in the Philippines, who was even able to download it. We took it as a sign that the new AI assistant would soon make its way to the App Store in the U.S. Well, we were right, as you can now download Gemini as a standalone app on your iPhone, after previously only being able to access it through a browser.

The Gemini app is free to download and has a surprising number of features available. More powerful functions are available for a $20-per-month subscription, but you can try Gemini Advanced out for one month for free. It grants priority access to new features and gives a "1 million token" context window.

Read more