The iPhone 13’s Battery Is Rumored to Be Up to 18% Bigger… Just in Time

The iPhone 13 rumors keep streaming in. Apple prognosticator Ming-Chi Kuo recently hinted bigger batteries were coming, but it looks like we now have an idea of how much bigger.

Reliable leaker L0vetodream (via 9to5 Mac) tweeted some specs revealing that the iPhone 13 lineup is expected to get anywhere between an 8% and 18% increase in battery capacity. Apple doesn’t say what batteries it uses, but based on iFixit teardowns, we know the iPhone 12 Mini has a 2,227mAh battery, the iPhone 12 and 12 Pro have a 2,815mAh battery, and the 12 Pro Max sports a 3,687mAh battery. According to L0vetodream, the iPhone 13 mini will get an 8% increase to 2,406mAh, the 13 and 13 Pro will get a 10% bump to 3,095mAh, and the 13 Pro Max will get an 18% increase to 4,352mAh.

The larger batteries are reportedly courtesy of new, more space-efficient designs such as integrating the SIM card slot with the mainboard and reducing the thickness of front optical modules. Generally, larger battery capacities translate to longer battery life—though there are some circumstances where that might not be the case. However, the iPhone 12 lineup not only sported smaller battery capacities than the iPhone 11 lineup, but they also had bigger displays. Adding 5G on top of that also didn’t help. The result was shorter battery life compared to the iPhone 11 lineup, with the 11 Pro Max handily beating every version of the iPhone 12.

Apple beefing up battery capacity might also indicate that the iPhone 13 will introduce more power-hungry features. For instance, rumors have hinted at the possibility of an always-on, 120Hz display. Newer versions of iOS are also likely to introduce new features that zap battery life. Case in point, iOS 14 has already had a few issues with battery drain. While the excessive drainage reported after the iOS 14.2 update seemed to be limited to older phones, the latest 14.6 update is also hitting newer phones, including the iPhone 12 lineup. Users in the Apple Support Community, the MacRumors forum, and on Twitter have reported overheating during simple tasks like web browsing and faster-than-normal battery drainage overnight.

All things considered, more milliamp hours isn’t the sole arbiter of a device’s longevity, but it’s hard to complain about the iPhone 13 lineup featuring bigger batteries. Though, if other rumors are to believed, a better battery still might not be enough to save the iPhone Mini.