The iPhone 13 Pro Max battery life is simply incredible

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The iPhone 13 Pro Max battery life is simply incredible
Most people have argued that the iPhone 13 series is a relatively minor upgrade. For the most part, that might be true, but the improvements Apple has made to battery life on these new devices are noteworthy.

We have finished our independent iPhone 13 Pro Max battery test and we see some record-shattering numbers that position this big phone at the very top of the battery performers list.

To measure battery life, we use our three battery tests: web browsing, YouTube video streaming, and 3D gaming, all different things that people tend to do quite a bit in real life.

Web Browsing battery test


hoursHigher is better
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
14h 6 min
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
12h 54 min
Apple iPhone XS Max
8h 33 min
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
16h 7 min


On our lightest test, web browsing, the iPhone 13 Pro Max broke the 20-hour barrier, an incredible score.

YouTube Video Streaming battery test


hoursHigher is better
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
10h 23 min
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
8h 37 min
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
8h 58 min
Apple iPhone XS Max
5h 25 min
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
8h 52 min

Video streaming is something we all seem to do a lot of these days, and the new Pro Max gets an excellent score here as well.

3D Gaming battery test


hoursHigher is better
Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max
10h 29 min
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max
8h 1 min
Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max
7h 30 min
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
8h 40 min

If you had any doubts about battery life during 3D gaming, put them aside: the iPhone 13 Pro Max beats earlier iPhones and the competition handily.

Personal experience

iPhone 13 Pro Max manages over 12 hours of screen on time

And here is a quick recount of the battery experience our colleague Joshua Swingle has had with his iPhone 13 Pro Max:

I’ve measured battery life while using the iPhone 13 Pro Max for the first five days now and it is simply incredible, to say the least. I’m not into mobile gaming or using apps that are super intense on the chipset, but I do use my smartphone a lot. That’s because I’m constantly browsing Twitter, reading messages on Skype and WhatsApp, checking emails, and so on.

Like many people my age, I also have quite the TikTok addiction and find myself endlessly scrolling through my For You page for an hour or two each night before going to sleep.

And that’s without mentioning the time I’ve spent this past weekend testing out ProMotion and seeing what the new cameras can do. Anyway, as I said above, I certainly use my smartphone a lot.

Despite that, I’ve still not managed to deplete the battery. So what are the exact numbers? If my math is correct, we should be looking at north of 12 hours of screen on time with a single charge — impressive.

  • Friday — 7h 50min screen on time, around 60% of charge used.
  • Saturday — 11h 49min screen on time, around 90% of charge used.
  • Sunday — 11h 37min screen on time, around 90% of charge used.
  • Monday — 10h 8min screen on time, around 75% of charge used.
  • Today — 3h 15min screen on time (so far), 32% of charge used.

If I really pushed the iPhone 13 Pro Max to its limits, I could probably squeeze out 13 hours of screen on time, perhaps even 14 hours. That's a serious upgrade over previous-gen devices, especially for me. I've upgraded from the iPhone XS Max, which managed around 4h of screen on time at best. 

What is your battery life experience with the iPhone 13 Pro Max? Do you charge it every day or is it a 2-day battery phone for you?

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