From the OG iPhone in 2007 through the iPhone XS in 2018, battery life was never the iPhone’s strong suit. In 2014 Samsung made fun of the iPhone’s truncated battery life in a television commercial called “The Wall Huggers.” The ad showed how iPhone users could always be found near the outlets inside airports while the Ultra Power Saving Mode on the Samsung Galaxy S5 provided extra life for more basic phone functions (and it might have been the first use of the world ‘Ultra’ as it relates to a Galaxy S phone.
Apple’s new iPhone ad focuses on the battery life of the iPhone 13
As “I Look Good” by O.T. Genasis plays in the background, we see the young man, full of swagger and confidence, riding his bike in front of his neighbors. About halfway through the commercial, the sun starts to set and we see that our hero is passing the same neighbors that he passed earlier. He has been doing laps on his bicycle (hence the name of the ad).
Soon, it is dark and no one is on the street except for the young man on his bicycle with his iPhone still running. Crickets chirp and the street lamps go on as the tag line surfaces: “Looooooonger battery life. Relax, its iPhone.”
When it comes to browsing the web, the iPhone 13 Pro Max was able to last 18 hours and 52 minutes before the battery conked out. The iPhone 12 Pro Max lasted 14 hours and 6 minutes before the battery petered out. What makes that comparison even more incredible, the iPhone 13 Pro Max had an albatross in the form of a 120Hz refresh rate around its neck compared to the less demanding 60Hz on the iPhone 12 Pro Max.
Why we might not see battery capacity rise with the 2022 iPhone 14 series
The battery on the iPhone 13 Pro Max tallied 10 hours and 23 minutes of YouTube streaming and 10 hours and 29 minutes of 3D gaming compared to the iPhone 12 Pro Max’s 8 hours and 37 minutes and 8 hours and 1 minute on the same tests respectively. If Apple follows its two steps forward, one step sideways tradition, we might see very little change in battery capacity for the iPhone 14 series before another huge improvement is made with the iPhone 15 line.
It is clear, however, that Apple considers the iPhone’s battery life to be a very important spec that can help drive demand for its handsets. As a result, we expect Apple to continue to work toward making the iPhone battery the longest-lasting in the industry.
