Apple iPhone 18 Pro Max: Longer runtimes expected thanks to larger battery and 2nm chip

Based on information from the supply chain, Chinese leaker Digital Chat Station has just revealed, for the first time, fairly concrete details about the planned battery sizes that Apple is planning for the iPhone 18 Pro Max, expected later this year. Accordingly, there will again be two different iPhone 18 Pro Max models: an eSIM-only model with a battery capacity of around 5,100 mAh to 5,200 mAh, and a classic model with nano-SIM slots that will house a 5,000 mAh battery.

Both are slightly larger than the current iPhone 17 Pro Max models, which offer a 5,088 mAh battery in the eSIM version and a 4,832 mAh battery in the nano-SIM version. Apple can't compete with the giant batteries (up to 10,000 mAh) found in some Chinese Android smartphones, such as the Honor iPhone 17 Pro clone, but Apple will likely have another option in 2026 to extend the battery life of its iPhone 18 Pro generation.

This year will also see the switch to the first 2nm chip in the form of the Apple A20 Pro, which will most likely be more energy efficient – typically a direct result of the smaller manufacturing process. However, the Apple A20 in the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max will most likely not be the first 2nm chip; Samsung's Exynos 2600, which also boasts a 2nm manufacturing process, is expected to appear in some Galaxy S26 models within the next few weeks, though manufactured by Samsung rather than TSMC.