iPhone 17 vs iPhone Air vs iPhone 17 Pro battery life — here's how they compare

How long Apple's newly released iPhones last on a charge figures to be a big focus of anyone upgrading to the new model, particularly as iPhone 17 preorders begin today (September 12). There's just one problem — right now, we kind of have to guess.

Apple rarely comments on the size of the batteries inside its phones, so we don't know exactly kind of cells are powering the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max and iPhone Air, let alone how that comapres to last year's models. And even if we did, we still have to complete battery testing until we can definitively state how the new iPhones perform when it comes to devices with the best phone battery life.

Still, Apple has provided us with some clues. And using those, plus the test numbers and specs we have from the iPhone 16 lineup, we can make some educated cases on what kind of battery life improvements we're likely to see as we spend more iPhone 17 hands-on time.

Here's what we know about iPhone iPhone 17 vs iPhone Air vs iPhone 17 Pro battery life.

iPhone 17 battery life: What Apple says

While we don't have official battery sizes from Apple, the company does list video playback times for each model in their specs sheets. Apple includes two categories — video playback of content directly on your device and video playback via streaming. The latter puts more of a hit on battery, so the listed time isn't as long.

The iPhone Air has the shortest listed video playback time — not surprising given that the phone's 5.64mm thin design doesn't leave a lot of internal space for a battery. Apple does note longer video playback times if you attach an iPhone Air MagSafe Battery to the back of the phone, though as we noted in the iPhone Air hands-on, sticking extra bulk on to the Air would seemingly defeat the purpose of paying up for a slender device.

There's one other thing to note about these listed video playback times: they reflect Apple's estimates for its eSIM-based models. iPhone 17 models that rely on physical SIM cards will have shorter playback times, according to Apple, as the card tray takes up space Apple uses for extra battery in the eSIM versions of its new phones.

The three returning iPhone 17 models — the standard iPhone plus the two iPhone 17 Pro versions — promise longer video playback times than their iPhone 16 counterparts. The iPhone 17 sees an 8 hour improvement over the iPhone 16 for video playback while the iPhone 17 Pro models hold out for 6 hours longer.

The iPhone Air, with its smaller battery, still manages to offer the same 27 hours of video playback as the iPhone 16 Plus model that it replaces, according to Apple.

What iPhone 16 battery testing tells us

Those video playback numbers may not mean much on their own. But when we add our own battery test numbers from last year's iPhone 16 models, we get a bit more context for what kind of battery improvements to expect.

To recap, when we review a phone, we test its battery by having it surf the web continuously over cellular until it runs out of power. A time between 10.5 hours and 11 hours is about average these days, and all four of the iPhone 16 models passed that mark with ease.

The best time came from the iPhone 16 Pro Max — not surprising given that it has the largest battery of any iPhone model as revealed by teardowns of last year's phones. The iPhone 16 Pro Max's average result of 17 hours and 35 minutes on our test is the best result we've seen from one of Apple's handsets.

That said, the iPhone 16 Plus also impressed by breaking the 16-hour mark. The more compact iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 models turned in stil respectable times that were hours behind the larger models in Apple's lineup.

Putting that data together with the video playback times Apple is claiming for its newest phones, we'd have to assume that the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max almost certainly feature larger batteries than their equivalent iPhone 16 versions. We're going to guess improved power efficiency from the A19 series of chips in the iPhone 17 models also helps extend battery life from last year.

The wildcard is the iPhone Air. Whatever battery Apple has placed inside that model, it's likely not as big as the iPhone 16 Plus' 4,674 mAh cell.

Yes, the iPhone Air's A19 Pro chipset figures to run more efficiently than the A18 inside last year's Plus, and Apple says it's eked out power gains from other components. But I'm having a hard time seeing how the Air will match the 16-hour result of the iPhone 16 Plus on our battery test. I'd be happy just to see it top the iPhone 16's 12 hour, 43 minute time.

iPhone 17 battery life outlook

Testing will have the last word on what we need to know about iPhone 17 battery life. But given the details that are out there, it's reasonable to assume that the standard and Pro models should see some improvement over the times turned in by their iPhone 16 counterparts.

The iPhone Air's status is more difficult to predict. But for its part, Apple seems pretty confident that its thinnest phone won't suffer from short-changed battery times.

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