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Chinese report indicates iPhone 7 to have slightly larger battery than iPhone 6s

iphone-7-battery

A Weibo report has surfaced that indicates the iPhone 7 may have a slightly larger battery than the current generation iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus. According to the poster, the iPhone 7 will include a battery with a 1735 mAH capacity and iPhone 7 Plus will feature a 2810 mAH battery. On both models, this is (slightly) more than the current-generation iPhones. The iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus have batteries with 1715 mAH and 2750 mAH respectively.

The iPhone 7 is rumored to look very similar to the current iPhone, with a thinner body and redesigned antennas. A major chassis design change is currently expected for the ‘iPhone 8’ in 2017.

Battery capacity and battery life are different things of course. Although additional capacity gives the device more power budget to play with, the efficiency of the components will influence the final battery life ratings. The iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus represented a significant downgrade in capacity but battery life remained constant, for example.

Even if the Weibo rumor comes true for iPhone 7, the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus will still have had the best battery capacity of any iPhone, with 1810 mAH and 2910 mAH batteries. Apple has generally stuck to the same battery life across iPhones for the last few years, ignoring the juncture when Apple made the devices substantially larger with 4.7 inch and 5.5 inch screens.

Apple has typically used increases in battery capacity to improve performance and used component efficiency improvements to make products thinner. The company sells an official battery case (released last year) for those longing for additional hours of use on the 4.7-inch iPhone.

Although the rumored numbers for iPhone 7 are higher, the delta is not significant enough to suggest Apple is making better battery life a priority for its upcoming iPhone (perhaps the A10 is slightly less power efficient than the A9?). Battery life is likely to be comparable to the 6s, if this rumor is accurate.

As always, uncredited reports on Chinese social networking sites should be interpreted with some skepticism. That being said, such leaks turn out to be correct frequently enough to warrant coverage.

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Comments

  1. edenk121d - 8 years ago

    Isn’t this OLD news I saw it weeks ago

  2. applegetridofsimandjack - 8 years ago

    A slightly larger battery along with the constantly more energy efficient chips will surely mean considerably better battery life no?
    15-20% better battery life would be huge…

    • PMZanetti - 8 years ago

      Yes, that’s possible. But its unlikely. The A10 will be more powerful than the A9 and thus require more power. It won’t require less power than the A9. To maintain the same battery life as the 6s, the capacity will have to increase.

      Like the article says, sounds like identical battery life to the 6s is the target goal (and not a bad one).

      • applegetridofsimandjack - 8 years ago

        Chipsets, despite getting more powerful, get more energy efficient every year. More powerful also doesn’t necessarily mean more power hungry.
        Just look at the new Macbook. It got new chips, up to 20-25% faster/more powerful. And yet the Macbook has an added 1 hour of battery life.

      • PMZanetti - 8 years ago

        Yes, I know, like I said. Its possible. And that would be great. But its not likely.
        And an Intel comparison is not a comparison.
        Apple shoots for far more than a 20% speed increase with their yearly chip generations, and doing so means more power consumption. You’re right that they get more efficient with each new fabrication process, but “more” is all relative. The power to weight ratio could be be drastically improved, but still see a net increase in power draw.
        We shall see how it all plays out, but the most likely scenario is identical battery life to the 6s, with 50% greater performance.

      • Abedoss - 8 years ago

        I don’t agree with you at all @PMZanetti , look at this chart:
        http://www.gsmarena.com/battery-test.php3
        if you pot the newer chip on the same screen size as the old one with nearly the same battery (the newer one increased by 0.1 Amp) it will beat it in every single test. Compare the 5s with SE.

      • vanilla199 - 8 years ago

        What are you talking about? If they are using the same exact set up, then the chip, on its own, will use less battery. That’s like saying a 2016 V-4 engine would be less efficient than a 2010 V-4 engine of the same structure. Of course it’s going to be more efficient. It’ll likely be more powerful, and more efficient. How much more powerful, and how much more efficient can vary based on engineering preferences, but it will be more efficient overall. Apple doesn’t go for power over battery life. They will aim for the same battery life, and once that is met, they will put the rest towards additional power. If it is the other way around, they will underclock the chip until it meets battery expectations. That is a very basic level of the line of thinking we’re looking at.

    • vanilla199 - 8 years ago

      That’s not really what we’re looking at. The battery gains based on capacity here are looking more like ~3.5%. The chip will probably add another 5% or so – so maybe 7-10% better battery life. The reason the 6S had the same battery life (despite a drop in battery size) is due to iOS 8 efficiency – otherwise it would have decreased, despite chip efficiency.

  3. if the leaked renders are some indication of what’s to come… i don’t even think Apple calls the 2016 iPhone, the iPhone 7… probably iPhone Air, or iPhone Pro, or iPhone 6 SE

  4. chrisl84 - 8 years ago

    Honestly, don’t know how Tim and crew will be able to walk out on stage this fall and try to hype consumers into buying the 6SS with straight faces. This year, we are jackless and water resistant with less antenna band…..it really is engineering only Apple could achieve.

    • twelve01 - 8 years ago

      Yeah – how dare they try to tout a slightly slimmer phone with better chip set, new features and performance. The gall.

      • chrisl84 - 8 years ago

        modest spec bumps are for S models, bring that crap to a new release and get laughed out of the room by every tech site in existence. You are an Apple zombie, but the mass market isn’t. I will continue to push Apple to do the best, not mediocre and sell to just fanatics like you, some of us actually want Apple Stock to do well.

      • chrisl84 - 8 years ago

        Which by the way Apple Stocks is close to hitting its longest losing streak in 18 years…..so yes the GALL, people have retirement accounts all across this county that depend on stock

      • twelve01 - 8 years ago

        My point is that the non-s cycle changes aren’t as significant as people. The main difference is usually cosmetic. Regardless, the buzz or lack thier off on these rumor sites is the same every time. Always some degree of ‘disappointment’ with Apple’s design and or lack of innovation – just a bigger screen? Large bezels again? No OLED? They’re making it timber again? What about battery? Ugly attenea line… Never mind that this is all rumor at this point.

        I’m also a shareholder. One thing I find incredibly annoying is that despite record success, overinflated expectations of message board fanatics, the financial news and analyst keep the price down. I’d argue your negative and unrealistic mindset is part is the problem.

        Your camp is the fanatics, and yet you’ll find a reason to upgrade.

      • mzaur8 - 8 years ago

        chrisl84, if your retirement account depends on one stock (Apple) then you really need a better financial adviser…

  5. Steffen Baensch - 8 years ago

    Doesn’t sound good. Larger battery –> thicker phone. Please Jony make it THINNER!

    • irelandjnr - 8 years ago

      Larger battery doesn’t have to mean thicker phone and one must assume your being sarcastic asking for thinner.

  6. Martin Kaninsky - 8 years ago

    I still dont understand what was the cut of jack for

    • twelve01 - 8 years ago

      The rumors point to a slimmer and possibly water and dust resistant design. Removing the jack would theoretically factor into all of these

  7. waltertizzano - 8 years ago

    After the first time iPhone sells less than the year before they will present the least appealing upgrade since iPhone was released and for the first time they retain the same design (which isn’t even particularly good) for three years in a row. Makes perfect sense Tim…

    • twelve01 - 8 years ago

      1) The rumor design is similar but with several differences – slimmer, less conspicuous antenna bands, dual camera (plus model), tru-time display. 2) they plan these designs 1-2 years in advance, and are a function of the existing technology and available components. They couldn’t have known of the 6s yoy sales decline at the time. All signs point to a pretty big change in 2017

      • vanilla199 - 8 years ago

        You sound like a perfect apple apologist. Remember when Phil said 16GB is still perfectly fine because they have iCloud? ;)

      • twelve01 - 8 years ago

        Just restating the reports – i.e. several improvements with no major redesign. The fact that it takes Apple (or anyone) a year or more of lead time, and is dependent on component availability for 200 million devices is an objective and obvious statement.

  8. ikonik1 - 8 years ago

    What makes you think an iPhone 8 will come out in 2017 when the iPhone 7s should be making an appearance? How many other flawed statements were made and called news?

    • twelve01 - 8 years ago

      Based reports from KGI’s Kuo and others.

    • vanilla199 - 8 years ago

      It’s pretty obvious that’s going to happen. If they do the stop gap iPhone 7 this year (which they will – it’s come up in like 5+ reports) then they won’t call the following iPhone the 7S. They will call this one the “New iPhone” or something, and then they will do something else the following year. Like they did with the full-size iPad from 3 to Air.

  9. taoprophet420 - 8 years ago

    As the article states the increased battery capacity of the 7 from the 6s/6s plus will still be below the 6 and 6 plus. The battery capacity doesn’t matter much at all. Apple A series chips keep getting more powerful and efficient each year. Each year the battery life remains basically identical to the previous year.

    I’m more interested in LG’s new fingerprint sensor that is located under the bottom bezel glass and would make for a more water right iPhone. These battery numbers are basically meaningless. A water resilient iPhone is big news.

  10. Jan Kowalski - 8 years ago

    is currently expected for the ‘iPhone 8’ in 2017 ??? 2018 :(

  11. Are you all so gullible…? They are lowering expectations with news like these. iPhone 7 is going to be better and different enough for Apple to get YOY growth back on track. Better design, new features, new additions to iOS X (OS X will be renamed macOS)… iPhone 7 will have 1080p screen, 7 Plus will have 1080p screen as well, thinner bezels and so help me god if I hear again that someone is skipping ip7 because of the headphone jack missing… Apple WILL have to include lightning to 3.5mm adaptor in the box. it is common sense… Mark my words (i am not so sure about 4.7 inch having 1080p screen but other stuff will be like I said…)

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Avatar for Benjamin Mayo Benjamin Mayo

Benjamin develops iOS apps professionally and covers Apple news and rumors for 9to5Mac. Listen to Benjamin, every week, on the Happy Hour podcast. Check out his personal blog. Message Benjamin over email or Twitter.