iPhone 12 could get the big battery upgrade we’ve been waiting for

iPhone 12 render by PhoneArena
(Image credit: PhoneArena)

Logic would dictate that a higher-powered charger tipped for the iPhone 12 could mean the upcoming Apple phones will have larger batteries. 

And in response to such logic, tech tipster Jioriku tweeted that larger batteries for the suite if iPhone 12 models are indeed on their way. Jioriku isn’t the best-known of the tech leakers, having only joined Twitter in June 2020, but bigger batteries for the iPhone 12 would certainly make sense.  

The tip comes after another leak on Twitter noted that the iPhone 12 will come with a 20W charger. That’s a hike up from the 18W charger the iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max, which would suggest that not only will faster charging be a feature of the iPhone 12, but it could use that extra wattage to fill up a large capacity battery without forcing lengthier charge times.

That being said, the leaks so far point towards the iPhone 12 having a slimmer design than the iPhone 11 Pro, meaning there’s potentially less space for Apple to fit in a larger battery pack. 

Larger batteries for the iPhone 12 models, which are rumored to come in 5.4-inch, 6.1-inch, and 6.7-inch variants, would make sense as the phones are not only expected to have a more powerful chips on the form of the A14 Bionic, but the Pro models are set to have 120Hz high refresh-rate displays. Such screens can suck up a lot of energy, so a bigger battery would offset the higher power consumption. 

The iPhone 11 Pro Max comes with the best battery life out of the current iPhones. It managed 11 hours and 54 minutes in our battery test, which involves continuous web surfing over 4G LTE on 150 nits of screen brightness. That was enough to land it a spot on our list of phones with the best battery life

So if Apple can expand the battery size across the range of iPhone 12 handsets, it could be onto a winner.  Especially if it can make the smaller iPhone 12 models last in excess of 11 hours. 

This rumor further paints a picture that the iPhone 12 will be an impressive series of Apple smartphones. Alongside a new design, better performance, and now improved battery life, we’re also expecting some phone photography upgrades. 

The standard iPhone 12 handsets are tipped to come with a pair of rear cameras, so improvements in their photography capabilities are likely going to be on the software side. But the iPhone 12 Pro models are expected to have a triple camera array seen in the iPhone 11 Pros but augmented with a LiDAR sensor found on the iPad Pro 2020

A new rumor has claimed that only the iPhone 12 Pro Max will get the LiDAR sensor. But we’re still expecting improvements in camera capabilities for both the Pro phones. 

We’ll know for sure when the iPhone 12 series get an official reveal come the Fall. Stay tuned to our iPhone 12 hub page for all of the latest rumors and leaks.

Roland Moore-Colyer

Roland Moore-Colyer a Managing Editor at Tom’s Guide with a focus on news, features and opinion articles. He often writes about gaming, phones, laptops and other bits of hardware; he’s also got an interest in cars. When not at his desk Roland can be found wandering around London, often with a look of curiosity on his face. 

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