iPhone batteries compared: Capacity, mah and watt hours for every iPhone

Macworld

Here we list and explain the battery capacities of every iPhone from 2007’s original iPhone to the very latest iPhone 16 series, including the iPhone 16e.

Measuring iPhone battery life in straight hours of real-world usage (as Apple likes to do) is not an accurate metric for comparison purposes as so many use and environmental factors play a part.

We can, however, rely on straight technical specifications to tell us the battery capacities of each iPhone.

For the latest battery life tests of every iPhone from the iPhone X to the iPhone 16 Pro Max see: iPhone 16 battery life: how much the iPhone’s battery life has improved.

Apple is notoriously secretive about these battery specifications, mainly because smartphones from rivals such as Samsung boast much larger battery capacities. We can only discover the battery capacities by ripping the battery out of the phone and checking the specifications printed there.

These are measured in either Milliamp Hours (mAh) or Watt Hours (Wh).

Milliamp hours are a measure of electrical charge, while a watt-hour is equal to one watt of energy consumed for one hour of time. And it is the energy consumed that matters when we’re measuring actual battery life.

Learn how to properly charge a phone battery.

Wh is a more accurate and consistent way to compare the total amount of energy that similar types of batteries can store.

And it’s all about the battery voltage, which mAh ignores, which determines the wattage (power) of a battery.

If the mAh is the same, the higher the voltage, the greater the actual stored power.

Volts (V) are a measure of electric pressure. Amps (A) are a measure of current. Multiply V x A and you get Watts (W) that are a measure of power. So V × A = W.

You can convert watt hours (Wh) to milliamp hours (mAh) using this formula: (Wh x 1,000) divided by V = mAh.

The lithium batteries that power most portable electronics have a voltage of about 3.6V, but some external battery packs (such as Apple’s 7.62V MagSafe Battery Pack) boast a higher voltage, which means they actually carry more power than their mAh implies.