The iPhone XS has a slightly smaller battery than last year’s iPhone X, according to filings Apple has made to comply with regulations in China.
While the XS makes internal improvements across the board – including boosting the RAM from 3GB for 4GB – the capacity of the battery has fallen. Filings published by TENAA (via MacRumors) show the iPhone XS has a 2,658mAh battery, while the iPhone X has a 2,716mAh cell.
This isn’t a significant difference in terms of real world numbers – far from it – and it’s likely efficiency savings elsewhere will more than compensate. However, those hoping an upgrade to the iPhone XS would bring them an improvement in battery life might want to reconsider what was already a mighty hard-sell.
Apple advertises the iPhone XS has up to 20 hours of wireless talk time, 12 hours of internet use, 14 hours of video playback and 60 hours of audio playback.
That’s largely in line with what it promised with the iPhone X: 20 hours of talk time, 12 hours of internet use, 13 hours of video playback and 60 hours of audio playback. Both are fast-charge compatible with a 50% boost possible in 30 minutes.
Elsewhere, the Chinese regulatory filings confirm the iPhone XS Max has the largest battery that’s ever appeared in an Apple smartphone – 3,174mAh. The iPhone XR, the device Apple says will last the longest of all three, delivers a 2,942mAh battery along with 3GB of RAM.
iPhone X owners may still be tempted by the inclusion of the A12 Bionic processor, which opens up more possibilities in terms of AR, as well as the camera improvements to features like Portrait Mode. Otherwise, it’s difficult to recommend an upgrade from the 2017 flagship to its ‘S’ iteration.
