Oliver Haslam on May 5, 2019, 8:25 am

Report: iPhone Battery Life Much Lower Than Apple’s Claims

UK consumer group “Which?” Has released a new report that claims multiple iPhone models provide battery life that is considerably below what Apple claims it to be. In its testing, Which? found that the iPhone XR in particular was noticeably below par.

In the report, Which? took nine different iPhone models and found that they all managed talk time battery reports of between 18% and 51% of the claims made by Apple. In the case of the iPhone XR, the report claims that the handset was able to manage 16 hours and 32 minutes of real-world talk time. Apple claims a much more impressive 25 hours.

While Which? hasn’t yet shared exactly how these tests were carried out, Apple released a statement to Business Insider in which it was quick to point out that its own testing methodologies are public, and in detail. Apple predictably also stands by its own ratings.

We rigorously test our products and stand behind our battery life claims. With tight integration between hardware and software, iPhone is engineered to intelligently manage power usage to maximize battery life. Our testing methodology reflects that intelligence. Which? haven’t shared their methodology with us so we can’t compare their results to ours. We share our methodology for testing which we publish in detail here.

It’s notable that the iPhone XR performed worst of all during these tests, with that handset having been roundly applauded for stellar battery life by reviewers and owners alike since its release late last year.

Apple wasn’t the only one to see its handsets tested like this, with Samsung, Sony, Nokia, and HTC all also tested. HTC fell into the same group as Apple, but Samsung, Nokia, and Sony were all found to underestimate their battery life, according to the tests.

(Source: Business Insider)