Apple iPhone X battery life test comparison vs iPhone 8 Plus, Samsung Galaxy

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The Apple iPhone X comes with a brand new 2,716 mAh battery that takes a weird L-shape and it's clear that Apple has made the most of the available space to cram in a big battery cell. It's not as large as on Android phones, but it is bigger than the battery of the iPhone 8 Plus.

So what is the actual battery life on the iPhone X?

We have spent a few days with the $1,000 phone and we have run our battery test to get the numbers. But first, here is how the iPhone X battery size compares to other iPhones and Samsung Galaxy phones' batteries:



In our experience, the iPhone X battery will last users even through those longer days, but you will still need to recharge your phone every night.


We experienced better battery life than what you get on the small iPhone 8, but not quite as good battery longevity as on the larger iPhone 8 Plus.


To confirm our experience, we ran a custom test that measures typical use of a phone. We do this tests for all phones that we review and we set the phones to equal conditions.

The iPhone X scored 8 hours and 41 minutes on our test, slightly better than the average score for a 2017 flagship phone. You can see how it compares to other major flagships in the chart below.

Battery life(hours)Higher is better
Apple iPhone X8h 41 min(Good)
Apple iPhone 8 Plus10h 35 min(Excellent)
Apple iPhone 88h 37 min(Good)
Samsung Galaxy Note87h 50 min(Average)
Samsung Galaxy S8+8h(Average)
LG V309h 34 min(Good)
Google Pixel 2 XL8h 57 min(Good)

Another important aspect of the battery experience is the time it takes to charge the battery. The iPhone X does support fast charging, but it still ships with the old, "slow", 5-watt charger in the box. If you want to make full use of the new fast charge capabilities of the iPhone X, you need to separately buy the Apple USB-C power adapter ($50) and a USB-C to Lightning cable ($25). Alternatively, you will also get faster charging speeds if you use an iPad charger, but a USB-C power adapter is required for the full fast-charge capabilities.

We used the regular charger that comes in the box with the iPhone X, and here is how long it took to charge the battery from 0 to 100% using this charger.

Full Charge(hours)Lower is better
Apple iPhone X3h 9 min
Apple iPhone 8 Plus2h 58 min
Apple iPhone 82h 28 min
Samsung Galaxy Note81h 42 min
Samsung Galaxy S8+1h 39 min
LG V301h 48 min
Google Pixel 2 XL2h 32 min

Yes, that's an excruciatingly long 3 hours and 9 minutes! Those slow speeds do not matter much when you leave your phone charging on the night stand, but if you need a quick battery top-up during the day, those speeds can be too slow.

The iPhone X also supports Qi wireless charging. It will work with most Qi-standard wireless chargers, but there is no wireless charger included in the box. To make use of this feature, you will need to purchase a third-party wireless charger. You can get one by Mophie or Belkin for $60 on the Apple Store, or get an even cheaper one for half this price from companies like Ravpower and Anker selling on Amazon and Best Buy.

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