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After running multiple trials to make sure that we got it right, the iPhone 17 series battery test is finally here. Where this year Apple made some big claims when it comes to battery life, saying that the 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max can each last 6 hours longer than last year's models, while the base iPhone 17 actually gets an even bigger jump with Apple saying that it lasts 8 hours longer. Now, when it comes to the iPhone Air, Apple is open saying that it doesn't last quite as long as the regular 17, which presumably is due to its thinner body and that smaller battery. But here's the problem with all of Apple's numbers. Their tests are just of basic video playback, where they keep
the speakers off, they don't use a variety of apps, and they don't even touch the screens. All of which can have a huge impact on battery life. So today, we're testing these phones in our lab, where we're running them through a variety of tasks using our robots to see how these phones actually stack up in the real world and whether or not they're as good as Apple is claiming. This episode is sponsored by Incogni, a service that protects your personal information once it's left your phone and is already floating around online.
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Now, those battery indicators aren't necessarily the most accurate early on, so we'll see what happens here in messaging, where all four phones are within equal distance of the mini cell tower in our lab. Where this time, after an hour of texting back and forth with our automated chatbots, the iPhone 17 Pro Max does the best, dropping by only four points, while the Air does twice as bad, suffering from an eight-point drop for the same exact task, which immediately puts it behind the other three by a decent bit. And things could get even worse for it here in email, where we have each phone opening and scrolling through the same set of threads. Where 1 hour later, that doesn't happen. The Air is able to match
the regular 17 with a five-point drop, while the Pro models each do slightly better, dropping by only four points. But we'll see how the Air stacks up here in the browser tests, since unlike the other tasks we've done, this one's a lot more processor intensive. Since each phone is randomly cycling through the same set of websites, they're loading each page while also scrolling through them. Where 1 hour later, wow, the Air suffers a 14-point drop, which now puts it 10 points behind the Pro models and five points behind even the regular iPhone 17. Now, speaking of the iPhone 17, there are two things that make it different this year. For one, just like the rest of the lineup, it is finally
using a 120 Hz ProMotion display, meaning it'll actually ramp up its refresh rate both up and down as we scroll through the home feed. And then two, unlike the rest of the lineup, it's the only one here that doesn't get the A19 Pro chip, with it only getting the standard A19. So it's going to be interesting to see how that plays out through this battery test, where at least after an hour in Instagram, it seems to be holding up just fine, matching the iPhone 17 Pro's five-point drop and even pulling another point ahead of the iPhone Air. But we'll see what happens here in standby, where I'm curious to see how the Air does compared to the other three, since it is the only one using Apple's in-house C1X modem,
while the other three are using Qualcomm's modem. And after 16 hours of just sitting there on idle, it looks like it did significantly better. Not in terms of like actual raw percentage drain, but in terms of its estimated milliamp hour usage. Here in YouTube, it's worth noting that each phone's display has been calibrated to the same 200 nits of brightness, with us also matching the speakers to the nearest decibel count, which is especially important considering that the iPhone Air only has a single speaker to power compared to the stereo speakers on the other three. And after an hour, it seems to have helped, with it technically being the most efficient at least in terms of milliamp hour usage. Of course,
in terms of percentage drain though, the 17 Pro Max did the best, with its 5,000 milliamp hour battery outperforming all the phones, pulling ahead of the smaller 17 Pro as we start working on gaming. Now, while Alto's Adventure isn't the most intensive game out there, it is still taxing the chipsets on each phone, where we'll get to see how the A19 in the regular iPhone 17 compares to the A19 Pro chip in the rest of the phones. Where after an hour of gaming nonstop, oh man, the 17 and its standard A19 chip takes a major hit, dropping by 15 points compared to the 10-point drop on the iPhone Air, placing the 17 in last place now as the Air slots itself into third.
So not the best performance from the 17 in that gaming test, but we'll see if it can turn things around here in Maps, where we're simulating navigation with GPS and the compass turned on. We have the phones actively seeking traffic information, and we're also scrolling through the map. Where another hour in, the 17 does one point better than the Air, dropping by only eight points compared to the nine points on the Air, while the Pro models each only drop by six points. Here in Spotify, our robots are listening to music, where again, I think it's worth noting that the Air only has that single speaker compared to the stereo speakers on the other phones, which in every other instance outside of
a battery test is normally a bad thing. But in this case, it actually helps, with it only dropping by 10 points after the hour, doing one point better than even the 17 Pro. But the bigger story there is what happened to the base iPhone 17, which saw a massive 15-point drop in that test, meaning heading into the most intensive task so far in Snapchats, it most likely won't make it all the way through, with the 9% it started with fully depleting after just 43 minutes, officially placing the 17 in last. The Air is just barely hanging on though, with 4%, which lasts it another 15 minutes before it also calls it quits. At which point the 17 Pro is still at a healthy 15%, while the Pro Max has a whopping 25%
left to go, which means for the first time ever, we are seeing a smaller Pro model of the iPhone make it to this app cycle test. Where last year, the iPhone 16 Pro died in Snap, so we are breaking new ground here. Where not only does the 17 Pro last a whole hour into this intensive task, but it actually goes on to beat Samsung's biggest phone in the S25 Ultra, lasting 1 hour and 53 minutes into it, which is just crazy impressive for a phone that is this small. Of course, the big boy still has 9%, and it has a shot at breaking some records here. With it not just passing the point where last year's iPhone 16 Pro Max died with 7% left to go, but it goes on to hit the 3-hour mark in app cycle, finally calling it quits after a
whopping 3 hours and 5 minutes into it, officially making it the longest-lasting iPhone we have ever tested by a pretty big margin. Anyways, that is it for me in this video. Thank you for watching, and as always, I'll see you in the very next episode.
