See the iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro, and Pro Max battery life results
In deciding which iPhone 12 to buy, battery life is an important factor. Using our new battery test, we have compared all-new iPhone 12 models.
In terms of running time over 5G, the iPhone 12 mini has the shortest runtime of the bunch. Apple’s iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro held up better than their Android counterparts, but they lag behind.
Compared to Android phones, the iPhone 12 Pro Max offers great endurance and performs well against the competition. The phone’s battery life is close to breaking the 11-hour mark, but it falls short.
iPhone 12 battery test: How it works
What you need to know about Tom’s Guide’s battery test. Until the battery drains, it launches a new site every 30 seconds at a screen brightness of 150 nits. Our tests were carried out on the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro over 5G and 4G, and there were significant differences between them.
For each phone listed below, we have included the battery size, even though it is not the only factor. As Apple does not provide battery capacity as a part of its specs, we determine the sizes of the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro batteries based on certifications and teardowns.
iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro battery test results
iPhone 12 mini battery life
Because the iPhone 12 mini has a small battery, it is not surprising that this phone lasts only 7 hours and 28 minutes when we use it for internet browsing on 5G. Despite having an even smaller 1,821 mAh battery, the iPhone SE 2020 lasted 9:18. It was conducted over 4G rather than 3G, which consumes less power.
iPhone 12 battery life
On AT&T’s 5G network, the iPhone 12 lasted just eight hours and twenty-five minutes. The iPhone 11 ran for 11 hours and 16 minutes with its 4G technology last year. Comparatively, the iPhone 12 operated for 10 hours and 23 minutes on 4G-only when we switched from 3G to 4G only.
Galaxy phones are generally more powerful than their 5G counterparts, but when their screens are set up for 120Hz refresh rates, they lose a lot of juice. With a 120Hz rate, however, it lasted 8:04 instead of 9:31 on 5G.
When the Pixel 5’s screen was set to a faster 90Hz refresh rate, it improved to 9:29, nearly an hour faster than Apple’s iPhone 12. This is well ahead of 5G’s 8:25 result over the iPhone 12.
iPhone 12 Pro battery life
T-Mobile’s 5G network allowed the iPhone 12 Pro to run for 9 hours and 6 minutes. Over 4G, the runtime jumped to 11:24. In terms of 4G performance, the iPhone 11 Pro lasted for 10:24.
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The Samsung Galaxy S20 Plus and Samsung s21 battery life, which costs nearly the same as the iPhone 12 Pro, lasted nearly 1.5 hours longer over 5G. Considering the differences in performance, Samsung’s phone clocks in at 8:55 at 120Hz instead of the iPhone 12 Pro’s 15:42 over 5G.
While the iPhone 12 Pro offers a larger 2,815 mAh battery than the Galaxy S20 Plus, it has a bigger 4,500 mAh battery.
iPhone 12 Pro Max battery life
Our conversation is now on. The iPhone 12 Pro Max’s 3,687 mAh battery lasted a very impressive 10 hours and 53 minutes over 5G. That’s more than two hours longer than the iPhone 12 Pro. When using a 120Hz display mode, the battery life of the Galaxy S20 Ultra fell to 9:13, thanks to its much bigger 5,000 mAh battery.
iPhone 12 battery life: Bottom line
We use our web browsing test to measure battery life, but it’s not the only method. Everyone knows that one won’t be able to surf the Internet for more than ten or eleven hours straight. Nevertheless, this test does provide an opportunity to compare the endurance of multiple smartphones even if the test is rigorous.
To save battery life, Smart Data in the new iPhone 12 automatically switches to 4G when you’re not browsing the web. Nevertheless, this only occurs if you turn off the screen and stream music while the screen is on.
On the whole, the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro batteries are worse than those of 5G, at least when surfing the web. If this is the case, you may want to switch to 4G manually in certain cases.
