iPhone 18 Pro fails key test: Here’s what results reveal
iPhone 18 Pro loses to its predecessor in a gaming test (photo: Unsplash)
The iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max failed to live up to Apple’s claims of record battery life, with real-world tests showing only a minimal increase in runtime, according to blogger Dave2D on YouTube.
Apple’s bold promises vs. reality: What was left out of the presentation
During the announcement, Cupertino developers assured users that the top-end iPhone 18 Pro Max would offer up to 45 hours of video playback, while the base iPhone 18 Pro would last up to 36 hours.
As usual, the company does not disclose exact battery capacity figures. However, according to leaked information:
- The iPhone 18 Pro Max received a 5,567 mAh battery — capacity increased by approximately 9.4 percent compared with last year’s version.
- The iPhone 18 Pro is equipped with a 4,288 mAh battery — an increase of just 36 mAh.
The new Apple A20 Pro chipset and an optimized operating system were supposed to be the main advantages, but independent testing revealed a significant discrepancy with the figures shown in the promotional slides.
Read more: Camera under the pixels and new modes: What exclusive features did the iPhone Duo get?
Gaming flop and social media: How the battery performs in real life
Popular tech blogger Dave2D put the devices through a tough stress test, comparing them with the iPhone 17 lineup at a fixed display brightness of 600 nits.
When running the demanding game Genshin Impact, the larger battery in the iPhone 18 Pro Max provided a gain of just 23 minutes compared with the iPhone 17 Pro Max.
Noticeable progress was seen only in low-load scenarios: while scrolling Reddit, the new model lasted 17 hours and 19 minutes, compared with 15 hours and 36 minutes for its predecessor.
With the standard iPhone 18 Pro, the situation was even more mixed:
- in social media reading mode, the smartphone lasted almost an hour longer (14 hours and 27 minutes versus 13 hours and 30 minutes);
- in Genshin Impact, the new iPhone 18 Pro ran out of battery 11 minutes faster than last year’s iPhone 17 Pro.
As a result, users who were expecting a record jump in battery life solely thanks to the new A20 Pro processor may be disappointed by the real-world performance of the new smartphones.
