Adam Kos Tomorrow begins the sharp sale of the iPhone 14 Plus, for which we had to wait a whole month since its launch by Apple on Wednesday, September 7. And it's the longest-lasting iPhone ever. So that's what the company itself tells us, but it contradicts itself in this direct comparison with the iPhone 14 Pro Max.
Apple declared the longest endurance of the iPhone 14 Plus not only in the Keynote with its introduction, but also proudly claims this designation directly in the Apple Online Store. On the product page it states: "a real Plus for the battery," when this slogan is accompanied by text "iPhone 14 Plus has the longest battery life of any iPhone." But where does Apple get any data for this?
It depends on the purpose of use
If you look at the footnotes for the Apple Watch, you'll find a fairly comprehensive explanation of how Apple arrived at the ultimate durability. However, he is quite stingy with iPhones, as he only mentions the following here:
“All battery life figures depend on network configuration and many other factors; actual results will vary. The battery has a limited number of charge cycles and will likely need to be replaced eventually. Battery life and charge cycles vary by usage and settings.”
However, he also gives a link to his support page, where he already talked more about knowledge. How he arrived at the individual numbers can be found in Czech here. It shows both standby tests, calls, and video or audio playback.
But if we first look at the listed values in the comparison of the models in the Apple Online Store, it is better for the 14 Pro Max model, because it leads by 3 hours in video playback, by 5 hours in video streaming and only in audio playback by 5 hours loses. So how can the iPhone 14 Plus be the iPhone with the longest endurance?
Always On doesn't decide
So, if we focus on that video, Apple mentions that it conducted tests in July and August 2022 with pre-production iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max and software, in LTE and 5G networks of operators. Video playback tests consisted of repeatedly playing a 2 hour and 23 minute long movie from the iTunes Store with stereo sound output. In the video streaming tests, a 3 hour and 1 minute long HDR movie from the iTunes Store was repeatedly played with stereo sound output. All settings were default with the following exceptions: Bluetooth was paired with headphones; Wi-Fi was connected to the network; the Wi-Fi Prompt to connect, Auto-Brightness and True Tone features have been turned off. Since the display is still active here, the Always On of the 14 Pro models has no effect on it.
But the sound is different. For it, Apple mentions that it conducted tests in July and August 2022 with pre-production iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max and software, in LTE and 5G networks of operators. The playlist consisted of 358 different songs purchased from the iTunes Store (256 kbps AAC encoding). Testing was done with stereo sound output. All settings were default with the following exceptions: Bluetooth was paired with headphones; Wi-Fi was connected to the network; the Wi-Fi Prompt to connect and Auto-Brightness features were turned off. The iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max were tested with the always-on display active, but the display was turned off - it turns off when the phone is, for example, face down, hidden in a bag or in your pocket; however, if the display is lit, the audio playback time will be shortened.
Illogical testing?
So what does this mean? That Apple measured 14 hours of audio on the iPhone 100 Plus and only 14 hours on the iPhone 95 Pro Max, so it automatically assumes that the iPhone 14 Plus has the longest battery life if it lasts the longest an iPhone has ever lasted during an activity? This claim is really questionable, even though the metrics that Apple applied to both devices are the same.
Gallery
Taking into account everything that has been said, it is definitely not possible to say with certainty that according to this measurement, the iPhone 14 Plus is really the one with the longest endurance. It is certain that it will have one of the greatest endurance. In addition, its battery is identical to that of the iPhone 14 Pro Max, with a capacity of 4323 mAh. In addition, this one-sided load may not tell much about the durability of the device. Rather, it is a combination of options and functions. But we will have to wait for a while before a more professional test is carried out with the help of a programmed robot.
