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Just ahead of Apple’s September iPhone launch event, recent Chinese regulatory filings have revealed confirmed battery capacities for all iPhone 17 models.
Every model in the iPhone 17 lineup will feature larger batteries compared to their iPhone 16 predecessors. The most notable improvement is seen in the iPhone 17 Pro, which boasts an 18.7% increase in battery capacity over the iPhone 16 Pro.
Specifically, the iPhone 16 Pro is equipped with a 3,582 mAH battery, while the iPhone 17 Pro’s capacity will be 4,252 mAH—an increase of approximately 400 mAH.
In terms of daily usage, these capacity boosts suggest longer battery life. Historically, Apple’s testing shows about a two-hour increase in streaming video playback from the iPhone 15 Pro to the 16 Pro, with roughly a 300 mAH capacity jump. Extrapolating from this trend, the iPhone 17 Pro could deliver an additional three hours of real-world usage, potentially surpassing the battery life rated for the iPhone 16 Pro Max.
The iPhone 17 Pro Max will break the 5,000 mAH mark for the first time, reaching 5,088 mAH—up 8.6% from the 4,685 mAH of the 16 Pro Max. This roughly 400 mAH increase hints at another three to four hours of additional daily battery life. While similar high-capacity batteries are common in premium Android devices, the iPhone’s superior efficiency may position the 17 Pro Max as the new leader in smartphone battery longevity.
An interesting development is that eSIM-only iPhone 17 models are expected to offer slightly better battery efficiency than those with physical SIM slots. Launching in regions including the US and Europe, Apple plans to continue selling models with physical SIM trays in areas like China to comply with local regulations.
The upcoming iPhones are also likely to benefit from improved power efficiency due to the A19 and A19 Pro chips, manufactured on TSMC’s latest N3P 3-nanometer process, which surpasses the efficiency of the N3E process used in the A18 chips. Meanwhile, components such as the display are expected to remain unchanged, with the Pro models maintaining their current screen sizes.
However, the base iPhone 17 will see only a modest 4% increase in battery capacity, paired with a new display size expanding from 6.1 to 6.3 inches, potentially including ProMotion 120Hz refresh rates for enhanced performance. Apple is expected to maintain similar real-world battery life figures as the previous generation in its official estimates.
Conversely, the new ultra-slim iPhone 17 Air may fall short in battery life, with a capacity 17% lower than the standard model, at around 3,149 mAH—though this still surpasses earlier rumors of sub-3,000 mAH capacities. The slender design appears to come with clear trade-offs in battery capacity.
Stay tuned to 9to5Mac for live coverage of the September event, set to begin tomorrow at 10 a.m. Pacific Time, where Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 17 lineup alongside new Apple Watch models and AirPods Pro 3.
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