It’s no secret that iPhone in Russia today has significantly limited capabilities. This is especially noticeable after VKontakte and MAX disappeared from the App Store, and some familiar services have to be installed through workarounds. It would seem like the perfect time to consider Android. But personally, I believe in Apple, and not without reason: the latest leaks about the iPhone 18 Pro Max have finally convinced me not to switch ecosystems. The senior flagship from Apple appears to be getting one of the most significant battery life upgrades in recent years.
Won’t buy Android — will wait for iPhone 18 Pro Max
What We Know About iPhone 18 Pro Max
The future flagship has been discussed for a while, but now the leaks about iPhone 18 Pro Max have formed a complete picture. Insider Ice Universe claims that iPhone 18 Pro Max battery life will increase so much that the smartphone will catch up with Android flagships featuring silicon-carbon batteries. These are models with 7000 mAh batteries, against which Apple previously won not with capacity but with optimization.
According to rumors, there will be no visual changes. All the exciting stuff is inside
According to the same source, it’s not about one improvement but a combination of three. These, if the rumors are to be believed, will deliver the increase in iPhone 18 Pro Max usage time between charges. Let’s break down what these upgrades are and why they matter so much.
How Long Will iPhone 18 Pro Max Hold a Charge
The first and most obvious upgrade is capacity. According to leaks, the iPhone 18 Pro Max battery in the eSIM version will grow to approximately 5567 mAh compared to 5088 mAh in the current 17 Pro Max. For Apple, this is a record battery in its history, and the question “what battery does the iPhone 18 Pro Max have” is no longer about saving every percentage point.
Rumors mention different capacities, but all are close to 5500 mAh
But mAh alone don’t decide everything, and Apple has proven this time and again. Real iPhone 18 Pro Max battery life will depend not on the nice number on the box but on how the system manages energy.
iPhone 18 Pro Max Power: What the A20 Pro Chip Delivers
The second upgrade is responsible for exactly that. iPhone 18 Pro Max performance will be powered by the A20 Pro chip, Apple’s first built on the 2nm process. The thinner the process, the more power-efficient the processor is in games, camera work, and everyday tasks, so the improvement comes not only from the battery but also from the hardware.
The main boost for 18 Pro Max is tied to the new chipset
The third factor is a redesigned task scheduler in iOS 27, which distributes workload across cores more efficiently. However, there’s a nuance here: not all versions of the flagship are equally fast.
iPhone 18 Pro Max vs Android Flagships — Which Is Better
To understand the scale, one comparison is enough. In an earlier test, the Xiaomi 17 Pro Max with a 7500 mAh battery needed 55% more capacity to beat the iPhone 17 Pro Max by just five minutes. That means Apple was already holding its own with a much smaller battery, and the iPhone 18 Pro Max should pull ahead even more noticeably.
Xiaomi 17 already has a 7000 mAh battery. It’s time for Apple to do something about it
Later this year, Android flagships with their own 2nm chips will also arrive, from Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 to Exynos 2700. That’s when we’ll find out who really leads in battery life. But based on current iPhone 18 Pro Max leaks, the odds are in Apple’s favor, with a comfortable margin at that.
Of course, all of this is still rumors, and Apple hasn’t officially confirmed anything. We’ll learn the final numbers closer to the September presentation. But if the iPhone 18 Pro Max leaks prove even half true, there’s no need to worry about the new flagship’s battery life. And in our circumstances, that alone is already quite something.
