Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max battery capacity leaks with decent gains over current iPhone 16 Pro Max

The launches of new flagships from Samsung and Google are right around the corner. To recap, Samsung is expected to unleash three foldables next week. Meanwhile, Google is believed to be lining up August 20 as the date when it introduces four smartphones under the Pixel 10 series.

However, Apple will not be that far behind with the iPhone 17 series. As it stands, the Cupertino-based company is anticipated to refresh the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max (curr. $915 - refurbished on Amazon) with direct successors. Conversely, the iPhone 16 Plus is tipped to make way for the iPhone 17 Air as Apple continues to search for a popular fourth flagship iPhone.

According to a well-known Weibo leaker, Apple is plotting to finally match Samsung when it comes to battery capacity. Specifically, Instant Digital reports that this year's Pro Max will jump to 5,000 mAh in a move that will see the iPhone 17 Pro Max matching the Galaxy S25 Ultra and potentially even the Galaxy S26 Ultra too if recent rumours are accurate.

Consequently, we would expect the 28% longer battery life that the iPhone 16 Pro Max enjoyed over the Galaxy S25 Ultra in our tests to grow between their successors. Exact differences will remain unknown until early next year when the Galaxy S26 Ultra officially arrives. Nonetheless, a near 7% jump in battery capacity, the A19 Pro chipset and Snapdragon X80 modem-associated efficiency improvements may see the iPhone 17 Pro Max delivering almost 35 hours of battery life by official metrics.