We subjected the Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max to our rigorous SBMARK Battery test suite to measure its performance in terms of battery life, charging and efficiency. In the results of these tests, we will analyze how it performed in a series of tests and in several common use cases.
Overview
Key Specifications:
- Battery capacity: 4441mAh
- 30W charger (not included)
- 6.7-inch OLED display, 1290 x 2796, 120 Hz
- Apple A17 Pro (3nm)
- Tested ROM/RAM combination: 512GB + 8GB
Pros
- Good autonomy in both indoor and outdoor tests
- Low discharge currents in almost all test cases
- Good wireless charging efficiency
- Low residual consumption in both wired and wireless charging
Against
- Poor autonomy during the game
- Charging times longer than average
- Low charging efficiency via cable
The Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max battery experience was excellent in terms of battery life and efficiency, ranking the device in the top half of the entire database.
The iPhone 15 Pro Max demonstrated excellent performance in battery tests, both internal and external. With a moderate user profile, the device lasted more than 69 hours, ranking it among the best devices in our database. In individual test cases, the iPhone 15 Pro Max also showed above-average battery life in almost all test cases, except for games, which consumed more than average.
The charging experience with the 30 W charger was still relatively weak compared to other smartphones. We measured a maximum charging speed of 27W. The iPhone 15 Pro Max took more than 2 hours to reach a full charge, ranking the device in the middle of our database. In the fast charging test, the iPhone 15 Pro Max only got 4 hours and 5 minutes of additional battery life, which is average.
The iPhone 15 Pro Max showed impressive efficiency thanks to relatively low discharge currents for almost all individual test cases, indicating that the device is generally well optimized. On the other hand, the iPhone 15 Pro Max’s wired charging efficiency was quite poor, losing nearly a third of the power drawn by the charger. Despite this, the residual power consumption of both chargers was very low whether the fully charged device was still connected or not.
Compared to other devices in the Ultra-premium segment ($800+), the iPhone 15 Pro Max ranked at the top of our database. The well-optimized device demonstrated very competitive battery life, despite the small battery capacity. The only major drawback was the weak charging experience.
Test summary
Information on SBMARK battery tests: For scoring and analysis in our smartphone battery reviews, SBMARK engineers perform a series of objective tests over a period of one week both indoors and outdoors. (See our introduction and how we test articles for more details on our smartphone battery protocol.)
The following section brings together key elements of our comprehensive testing and analysis performed in SBMARK laboratories. Detailed performance evaluations in the form of reports are available upon request. Do not hesitate to contact us.
| Drums | Battery charger | wireless | Screen | Processor | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max | 4441 mAh | 27W (included) |
15W | AMOLED Retina XDR 1290 x 2796 |
Apple A17Pro |
| Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max | 4323 mAh | 20W (not included) |
15W | OLED 1290 x 2796 |
Apple A16 Bionic |
| Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra | 5000mAh | 45W (not included) |
15W | AMOLED 1440 x 3088 |
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 |
How the autonomy score is composed
The battery life score is made up of three performance subscores: Home/Office, On the Go, and Calibrated Use Cases. Each subscore includes the results of a full range of tests to measure battery life in all types of real-life scenarios.
101 hours
Light usage
Active: 2h30/day
69 hours
Moderate use
Active: 4 hours a day
43 hours
Intense use
Active: 7 hours a day
Home office
A robot housed in a Faraday cage performs a series of touch-based user actions during what we call our “Typical Usage Scenario” (TUS) (making calls, streaming video, etc.) – 4 hours of active use over the course of 16 hours. -a period of one hour, plus 8 hours of “sleep”. The robot repeats this series of actions every day until the device runs out of power.
In movement
133
Samsung Galaxy M51
Samsung Galaxy M51
Using a smartphone on the move puts a strain on battery life due to additional “hidden” needs, such as the continuous signaling associated with cellular network selection. SBMARK Battery experts take the phone outdoors and perform a series of well-defined activities following the same three-hour travel itinerary (walking, taking the bus, subway…) for each device
Calibrated
121
Samsung Galaxy M51
Samsung Galaxy M51
For this series of tests the smartphone returns to the Faraday cage and our bots repeatedly perform actions related to a specific use case (such as gaming, video streaming, etc.) at a time. Starting from an 80% charge, all devices are tested until they have consumed at least 5% of their battery charge.
In charge
116
Realme GT Neo 5 (240W)
Realme GT Neo 5 (240W)
How the charging score is made up
Charging is a full part of the overall battery experience. In some situations where battery life is at its lowest, knowing how fast you can charge becomes a concern. The SBMARK Battery Charging Score is made up of two sub-scores, (1) Full Charge and (2) Quick Boost.
Full charge
109
Realme GT Neo 5 (240W)
Realme GT Neo 5 (240W)
Full charge tests evaluate the reliability of the battery charge indicator; measure how long and how much energy the battery takes to charge from zero to 80% capacity, from 80 to 100% as shown by the user interface, and until actually fully charged.
The charging curves, in wired and wireless mode (if available) show the evolution of the battery level indicator as well as the energy consumption in watts during the charging phases towards full capacity.
The charging curves, in wired and wireless mode (if available) show the evolution of the battery level indicator as well as the energy consumption in watts during the charging phases towards full capacity.
Quick push
124
Realme GT Neo 5 (240W)
Realme GT Neo 5 (240W)
With the phone at different charge levels (20%, 40%, 60%, 80%), the Quick Boost tests measure how much charge the battery receives after being plugged in for 5 minutes. The graph here compares the average battery life gain with a 5 minute fast charge.
Efficiency
134
Oppo Reno6 5G
Oppo Reno6 5G
How the efficiency score is composed
The SBMARK Energy Efficiency Score is composed of two sub-scores, charging speed and discharging speed, which combine both data obtained during a typical robot-based usage scenario, calibrated tests and charging evaluation, taking into account battery capacity of the device. SBMARK calculates the annual energy consumption of the product, shown in the graph below, which is representative of the overall efficiency during a charge and when in use.
Charge Up
99
Nubia Red Magic 7 Pro
Nubia Red Magic 7 Pro
The charging subscore is a combination of four factors: the overall efficiency of a full charge, related to the amount of energy needed to fill the battery compared to the energy the battery can provide; the efficiency of the travel adapter when it comes to transferring power from an outlet to your phone; the residual consumption when the phone is fully charged and still connected to the charger; and the residual consumption of the charger itself, when the smartphone is disconnected from it. The graph below shows the overall efficiency of a full charge in %.
Discharge
156
Apple iPhone 14 Pro
Apple iPhone 14 Pro
The discharge subscore evaluates how quickly a battery discharges during a test, which is independent of the battery’s capacity. It is the ratio between the capacity of a battery divided by its autonomy. A small capacity battery may have the same battery life as a large capacity battery, indicating that the device is well optimized, with a low discharge rate.
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