IPhone 16 Pro Max it’s quite an impressive handset, boasting phenomenal gaming performance and plenty of AI-powered tricks coming with the latest iOS 18.1 update. However, Apple has always tried to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to battery life, and according to a recent test, that hasn’t changed with its latest flagship model.
Technology YouTuber TechDroider tested the iPhone 16 Pro Max against the recent Xiaomi 15 Pro, as well as some of the best Android phones of 2024 such as the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL and OnePlus 12. The recent Xiaomi 15 Pro won a battle that lasted almost 12 and half an hour, although the second place was taken by the iPhone, which lasted just over 11 hours. While they’re not as hard-wearing as the Xiaomi’s, these are pretty decent numbers compared to the 16 Pro Max, providing more than enough juice to get carried away with some of Apple Arcade’s best games.
Admittedly, it should not be surprising that the Xiaomi 15 Pro won, considering that its battery is almost 1,500 mAh larger than the iPhone 16 Pro Max. This also suggests that the recent Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset is more competent than the 8th Gen 3 processor found in the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and OnePlus 12. With this in mind, we’ll take a look at how the S25 Ultra performs in terms of battery life tests when it launches next year as reports suggest it packs the same Snapdragon chipset as the recent Xiaomi.
While the battery life test mainly focused on how long each phone takes to discharge, TechDroider also measured the temperature of each device during continuous exploit, and in the case of Apple, the situation is not so rosy in this regard. iPhone 16 Pro Max recorded a temperature of 50°C, which is much higher than the 43.8°C of Xiaomi 15 Pro. Only Samsung warmed up, recording a reading of 50.4°C. So if you’re considering purchasing an Apple flagship for long gaming sessions, you may want to invest in a cooling case instead or wait for the expected global launch of the Xiaomi 15 in 2025.
Of course, it is worth noting that the average user does not exploit their phone for 11 hours continuously, so the temperature should not deter the iPhone 16 Pro Max. However, if you want to check out alternatives, our guides to the best gaming phones and the best budget gaming phones are full of fantastic options for mobile gamers.
