How Long Should Your iPhone 17's Battery Actually Last?

The standard iPhone 17 doesn't show its age despite being a year old. The handset remains in Apple's lineup after the introduction of the iPhone 18 Pros, as there's no base iPhone 18 to replace it. Consumers looking for an iPhone upgrade would not be wrong to buy the $899 model instead of one of the more expensive iPhone 18 Pro models or Apple's first foldable iPhone. Since battery life may be one of the main reasons to purchase a brand-new iPhone, consumers will want to know how long the iPhone 17 battery lasts. The advantage of buying this model a year after its release is that there are plenty of reviews and battery tests to show exactly what the standard model is capable of in real-life scenarios in addition to Apple's battery estimates.

That said, it's important to be aware of those official estimates:

• iPhone 17: 30 hours (video playback) and 27 hours (streamed video playback)
• iPhone 16: 22 hours (video playback) and 18 hours (streamed video playback)
• iPhone 16 Pro: 27 hours (video playback) and 22 hours (streamed video playback)
• iPhone 17e: 26 hours (video playback) and 21 hours (streamed video playback)
• iPhone Air: 27 hours (video playback) and 22 hours (streamed video playback)
• iPhone 17 Pro: 33 hours (video playback) and 30 hours (streamed video playback)
• iPhone 17 Pro Max: 39 hours (video playback) and 35 hours (streamed video playback)
• iPhone 18 Pro: 36 hours (video playback) and 33 hours (streamed video playback)
• iPhone 18 Pro Max: 45 hours (video playback) and 40 hours (streamed video playback)

This quick comparison shows that the iPhone 17 offers a significant battery life boost compared to the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro and outperforms the cheaper iPhone 17e and the more expensive iPhone Air.

Apple doesn't offer any other battery life estimates for iPhones beyond the two figures tied to video playback. But smartphone users do more than just streaming video on their device. Users run various apps at any given time and switch between light and demanding apps, like the Camera app and high-end games that may be significantly more power-hungry. There's also the iPhone's Always-On functionality that can consume additional energy when the handset isn't in use. Thankfully, various reviewers have established their own standard battery tests over the years, which they use for every new smartphone.

For example, Tom's Guide sets the screen brightness to 150 nits and fully charges the battery. The handset then surfs the web over 5G until the battery dies. The blog says this is a "demanding test" and only handsets that last at least 11.5 hours end up on its best phone battery list. The iPhone 17, with a time of 12 hours and 47 minutes, makes that list. To put things in perspective, here are a few other models: iPhone 16 (12:43), iPhone 17e (12:35), and iPhone 17 Pro (15:32).

Similarly, Notebookcheck uses standard battery tests for smartphones. In its Wi-Fi test, the display brightness is set at 150 cd/m2, while a script loads web pages every 30 seconds. The iPhone 17 battery lasted 20.1 hours in the test, compared to 18.3 hours for the iPhone 16. However, PhoneArena's web browsing test, which simulates real-world internet use, had somewhat differing results. The iPhone 17 lasted 16 hours and 47 minutes, or a minute under the iPhone 16's time.

PhoneArena's battery tests also include video streaming and gaming tests and the trend continues, with the iPhone 16 outlasting the iPhone 17. In the video test, the iPhone 17 survived 7 hours and 19 minutes while playing videos, compared to 7 hours and 30 minutes for the iPhone 16. The iPhone 17 lasted 9 hours and 12 minutes in the 3D game test, 40 minutes less than the iPhone 16. The display brightness is set at 200 nits, and the blog tests the handsets over Wi-Fi. PhoneArena uses the three tests to calculate a Battery Score, which provides "a rough estimation of the expected screen time" of the handset. The iPhone 17's Battery Score is 6 hours and 13 minutes, compared to 6 hours and 21 minutes for the iPhone 16.

Notebookcheck's more intensive test, with the screen set at maximum brightness, has the iPhone 17 surviving for 4.4 hours, compared to 3.6 hours for the iPhone 16. The blog's "load" test involves running the PUBG game in the lobby with the maximum frame rate and the Ultra HD setting turned on.

Separately, Notebookcheck runs a video playback battery test, in which the iPhone plays a Full HD video in a loop with the brightness set at 150 cd/m2, the sound set to silent, and Airplane mode enabled. The iPhone 17 survived for 29.4 hours, compared to 23.1 hours for the iPhone 16 in this test, closely matching Apple's estimates. ExpertReviews has its own standard test for smartphone battery life. It sets the screen brightness to 170 cd/m2 and enables Airplane mode before using the VLC app to play a video on a loop. The iPhone 17 lasted for 29.2 hours in its test compared to 25.8 hours for the iPhone 16.