The iPhone 16 Pro Max continues to make headlines, with Apple firmly having the best performance and longest battery life smartphone this year.
In PhoneBuff’s test, the 16 Pro Max went head-to-head with the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra in a test involving a variety of app functions, all controlled by a robotic arm. The iPhone ultimately lasted a total of 28 hours and 14 minutes; with more than 12 hours of active screen-on time and 16 hours of standby. That battery life performance set a new record, beating out any other smartphone PhoneBuff has tested.
In comparison, the S24 Ultra managed a solid 27 hours and 18 minutes, albeit dying one hour earlier than the iPhone 16 Pro Max. The previous iPhone, the iPhone 15 Pro Max, achieved 27 hours and 45 minutes, when it was tested a year ago on iOS 17.
This year’s PhoneBuff test was also slightly more strenuous, with more simulated scrolling through Instagram and other apps than was conducted previously.
PhoneBuff uses a programmed robotic arm to precisely mirror input interactions across phones, making for one of the most realistic synthetic battery life benchmarks we’ve seen.
Rather than just playing videos on repeat, or cycling through websites until the phones die, the PhoneBuff test spans the gamut of what a phone can do. That includes sending and receiving messages, triaging email, browsing the web, scrolling through social media apps, watching YouTube, playing games, listening to streaming music, using Google Maps and more.
You can watch the full test here:
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