WiFi vs 5G: Test shows major differences in battery drain

It’s no surprise that a 5G connection would be more battery heavy on a smartphone compared to a Wi-Fi connection under the same conditions. That being said, a YouTuber has put this to the test and shared results of how much the two connections actually impact battery life. Using two iPhone 17 Pro Max phones and running them through a gauntlet of tests, the video shows exactly what activity tanks the battery life on both connections.

The PhoneBuff YouTube channel is known for their battery life comparisons, as well as several other smartphone tests. For the Wi-Fi vs 5G battery test, the methodology involved two iPhone 17 Pro Max (buy on Amazon) phones, one with Wi-Fi on and the other with it turned off. Both were factory reset with the same apps installed, set to the same brightness, and with brand new accounts. Through the 26-hour test, the phones went through regular voice calls, text messaging, a FaceTime call, web browsing, standby, social media browsing, and finally, video streaming.

While calling and messaging didn’t show any different in battery life consumption between the two, FaceTime is where things got interesting. After a two-hour call, the 5G phone dropped to 46% while the Wi-Fi one dropped to 62%. This was a 42% loss for the 5G phone and a 25% loss for the Wi-Fi phone over the two hours. The gap was maintained over the next few tests until social media browsing kicked in.

After two hours of Instagram, the 5G phone dropped to 4%, a 13% loss over the two hours. The Wi-Fi model dropped by 10% to 26% battery remaining. Then, after about 22 minutes of streaming a movie, the 5G phone turned off while the Wi-Fi model still had 25% left in the tank.

Of course, there are a lot of variables and caveats to this type of testing. A 5G connection is constantly switching towers while travelling, which also drains battery. This was also compared between two iPhone 17 models and the one on the move showed about an hour of reduced screen on time. Another interesting point showcased was how much more delta there is with older phones that have older modems, where Wi-Fi can save even more battery life.

Check out the full testing video below: