For two years, the iPhone 13 Pro Max stood as an uncontested benchmark of smartphone endurance — a quiet monument to what battery engineering could achieve. This autumn, a methodical real-world test across seven iPhone generations revealed something the spec sheets did not predict: Apple's newest flagship processor, the A17 Pro, could not outrun a larger battery and a humbler display. The iPhone 15 Plus, powered by last year's chip and priced below the Pro tier, outlasted every iPhone ever tested — a reminder that in technology, as in life, the loudest claims and the quietest results rarely sp
iPhone 15 Plus Outlasts Pro Models in Battery Test, Dethroning iPhone 13 Pro Max
The A17 Pro fell nearly two hours short of the A16.
Mark
So the iPhone 15 Plus beat everything, including the Pro Max? That seems backwards.
Mimi
It does, but the numbers are clear. Thirteen hours and nineteen minutes versus eleven hours and forty-one for the Pro Max. The Plus has a bigger battery and a slower display—60Hz instead of 120Hz.
Luke
Wait, how much bigger is the battery? The Plus is 4383mAh and the Pro Max is 4441mAh. That's only a 58mAh difference. That doesn't explain a two-hour gap.
Mimi
Right, so it's not just the battery. The 120Hz display on the Pro Max consumes more power. And the A17 Pro chip, which Apple said was the most efficient ever, apparently isn't delivering that efficiency in practice.
Mark
But didn't Apple say the same thing about the A16?
Mimi
Yes. And the A16 actually performed better in this test than the A17 Pro. The iPhone 15 Plus uses the A16, and it outlasted the Pro Max by nearly two hours.
Luke
How was the test structured? Was it a controlled environment, or real-world use?
Mimi
Controlled. He ran specific apps—TikTok, Spotify, ChatGPT, Zoom, camera, YouTube—for one hour each, then let the phones run until they died.
Mark
So it's not typical daily use.
Mimi
No, but it's consistent across all seven phones, which makes the comparison valid. The iPhone 13 Pro Max, which held the top spot for two years, dropped to third.
Luke
The 13 Pro Max lasted 11 hours and 13 minutes. The Plus lasted 13 hours and 19 minutes. That's a meaningful difference, but I want to know: did the test account for screen brightness, or was that variable?
Mimi
The source doesn't specify. That's a gap.
Mark
What does this mean for someone buying an iPhone right now?
Mimi
If battery life is your priority, the iPhone 15 Plus is the best choice. It's cheaper than the Pro models and lasts longer.
Luke
But the Pro Max has a better camera, a better display, and other features. Battery life is one metric. The test doesn't tell you whether those other things are worth the trade-off.
Mark
Fair point. So Apple's marketing about the A17 Pro being the most efficient chip—that claim didn't hold up?
Mimi
Not in this test. The A17 Pro is in the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, and both underperformed the A16-powered iPhone 15 Plus.
Luke
The iPhone 15 Pro lasted 9 hours and 20 minutes. That's significantly worse than the Pro Max. Same chip, different battery and screen. So the variables matter more than the processor generation.
The Pulse
- Apple spent months positioning the A17 Pro chip as a generational leap in efficiency, but a rigorous seven-device drain test exposed a nearly two-hour gap between that promise and reality.
- The iPhone 13 Pro Max, which had held the battery endurance crown for two consecutive years against all challengers, was finally dethroned — not by Apple's most expensive new phone, but by its most overlooked one.
- The iPhone 15 Plus, running last year's A16 chip with a 60Hz display and a modestly larger battery, lasted 13 hours and 19 minutes — outpacing the flagship iPhone 15 Pro Max by a striking margin.
- The test results reframe the value equation: the non-Pro model, priced lower than both Pro variants, delivered the best real-world endurance in the entire iPhone lineup.
- The findings land as a quiet challenge to Apple's marketing architecture — suggesting that battery capacity and display restraint remain more decisive than processor generation when endurance is what actually matters.
For two years, the iPhone 13 Pro Max stood as an uncontested benchmark of smartphone endurance — a quiet monument to what battery engineering could achieve. This autumn, a methodical real-world test across seven iPhone generations revealed something the spec sheets did not predict: Apple's newest flagship processor, the A17 Pro, could not outrun a larger battery and a humbler display. The iPhone 15 Plus, powered by last year's chip and priced below the Pro tier, outlasted every iPhone ever tested — a reminder that in technology, as in life, the loudest claims and the quietest results rarely speak the same language.
For two years, no smartphone could match the iPhone 13 Pro Max on battery endurance — not Samsung's best, not even Apple's own successors. When Apple unveiled the iPhone 15 series with its new A17 Pro chip and bold efficiency claims, YouTuber Mrwhosetheboss decided to put the entire lineage to the test.
The method was thorough: seven iPhones running identical apps — Facebook, TikTok, Spotify, ChatGPT, the camera, Zoom, YouTube, and games — for one hour each, measuring real-world battery consumption across the full cycle. The contenders ranged from the iPhone 13 Pro Max and iPhone 14 through the complete iPhone 15 family.
The results defied the obvious narrative. The iPhone 15 Pro Max, carrying the largest battery ever placed in an iPhone and Apple's newest chip, finished second. The two-year champion, the iPhone 13 Pro Max, fell to third. The winner was the iPhone 15 Plus — armed with last year's A16 chip, a 60Hz display, and a battery only marginally larger than its rivals — lasting 13 hours and 19 minutes, the longest endurance ever recorded for an iPhone in this format.
The gap between the Plus and the Pro Max stretched to nearly two hours, a result that quietly dismantles Apple's efficiency narrative around the A17 Pro. The data points toward a more durable truth: battery capacity and display restraint outweigh processor generation in determining how long a phone actually lasts. For consumers weighing their options, the iPhone 15 Plus — less expensive than either Pro model — emerged as the unexpected champion of the metric that matters most in daily life.
For two years, the iPhone 13 Pro Max held an unchallenged crown: no smartphone could match its battery endurance. Samsung's Galaxy S23 Ultra couldn't touch it. Even Apple's own iPhone 14 Pro Max, marketed as more power-efficient, fell short. When Apple announced the iPhone 15 series this year, the company made the same bold claim about its new A17 Pro chip—that it was the most power-efficient processor in any smartphone. But claims and reality don't always align, which is why YouTuber Mrwhosetheboss decided to test them.
The test was straightforward in concept but thorough in execution. He ran the same apps on seven iPhones—the 13 Pro Max, 14, 14 Pro Max, and the entire iPhone 15 lineup—for one hour each, cycling through Facebook, TikTok, Spotify, ChatGPT, the camera app, Zoom, YouTube, and games. The goal was to measure how much battery each device consumed under real-world conditions, then see which one lasted longest when pushed to its limit.
The specifications going in told part of the story. The iPhone 13 Pro Max carried a 4352mAh battery and Apple's A15 chip. The iPhone 15 Plus, by contrast, came with a 4383mAh battery but used the A16 chip from last year's Pro models, not the new A17 Pro. The iPhone 15 Pro Max, the flagship, packed the largest battery ever in an iPhone at 4441mAh and the new A17 Pro chip. On paper, the Pro Max should have dominated. It didn't.
When the test concluded, the results upended expectations. The iPhone 15 Plus lasted 13 hours and 19 minutes—the longest of any iPhone ever tested. The iPhone 15 Pro Max came in second at 11 hours and 41 minutes. The iPhone 13 Pro Max, the reigning champion, dropped to third place after holding the top spot for two consecutive years, managing 11 hours and 13 minutes. The iPhone 14 Pro Max lasted 10 hours and 54 minutes. The iPhone 15 Pro, despite carrying the celebrated A17 Pro chip, managed only 9 hours and 20 minutes. The standard iPhone 15 lasted 9 hours and 57 minutes. The iPhone 14 came in last at 9 hours and 2 minutes.
The gap between the iPhone 15 Plus and the iPhone 15 Pro Max is striking: nearly two hours of additional runtime, despite the Pro Max having a larger screen with a higher refresh rate and the newer, supposedly superior processor. The A17 Pro chip, which Apple positioned as a generational leap in power efficiency, fell almost two hours short of the A16 chip running in the iPhone 15 Plus. For a company that had spent months emphasizing the efficiency gains of its new processor, the test results suggested that battery capacity and display technology matter more than chip generation.
This finding carries real implications for how people should think about iPhone purchases. The iPhone 15 Plus, priced lower than the Pro models, delivered the best battery life in the entire lineup. It achieved this not through revolutionary chip design but through a larger battery and a more conservative display—60Hz instead of 120Hz. The A17 Pro's failure to deliver on Apple's efficiency promises raises questions about whether the company's marketing narrative around processor power has outpaced what the chips can actually accomplish in daily use. For consumers prioritizing battery life, the data suggests that the non-Pro iPhone 15 Plus represents better value than either Pro model, at least when endurance is the measure that matters most.
Notable Quotes
The A17 Pro can pride itself as the most power efficient chip of the moment, but in general, nothing comes close to the A16 chip in the iPhone 15 Plus.— Test analysis (Mrwhosetheboss via Gizchina)
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