iPhone 13 series: Apple delivers on ‘bigger battery’ promise

According to Apple’s numbers, the 13 Pro Max’s battery is a healthy fraction of some laptop batteries

iPhone batteries have grown an average of 13 percent since last year, according to information on the website of Chemtrec, the hazardous materials information and response company. The document, posted on behalf of iPhone maker Apple, showed that the battery of the iPhone 13 Pro Max is almost comparable to that of the Nintendo Switch.

Battery sizes in the document are reported in watt-hours rather than milliamp-hours, the more traditional practice. While most smartphone manufacturers report their battery capacity in milliamp hours, it is often less accurate and difficult to compare. According to information on Chemtrec’s website, the iPhone 13 Mini’s battery has increased by 9 percent over its predecessor to 9.34Wh. The iPhone 13 has a 12.41 Wh battery, up 15.1 percent, while the iPhone 13 Pro is powered by a 11.97 Wh battery, up 11 percent. The battery of the iPhone 13 Pro Max is 16.5 Wh, a whopping 16.5 percent more than the previous generation.

The most important aspect of the larger batteries is how it varies in each new device. The earlier iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro had the same battery. Now, however, the iPhone 13 has a larger battery than the 13 Pro. While the phone sizes are similar, the Pro has a higher refresh rate, an additional GPU core and additional cameras, leaving little room for a larger battery, it seems.

The iPhone 13 series is also heavier and thicker than its predecessor. The company has seemingly made the compromise it did with the iPhone 11 series: bigger phones and battery.

According to Apple’s numbers, the 13 Pro Max’s battery is a healthy fraction of some laptop batteries. The 16.5 Wh battery is just over 33 percent of the MacBook Air’s battery.

At the launch of the iPhone 13 series last week, Apple said the batteries of the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Mini will last 1.5 hours longer, while those of the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro Max will last 2.5 hours longer.