iPhone 7 battery: 14% larger than 6s

The iPhone 7 has had quite a bit of spotlight when it comes to photos, showing us that, aside from a few antenna bands, and a larger back camera slot that could feature optical image stabilization (OIS), a little juicy rumor about a 256GB storage model being added into the 2016 lineup, and the fading away of the coveted 3.5mm headphone jack, little else has changed about the upcoming device. We know very little else about it, apart from some slight design changes (and the camera), but a new leak provided by OnLeaks says that the iPhone 7 battery will get a slight bump from the iPhone 6s’s current 1,715mAh battery to the iPhone 7’s 1960mAh battery.

OnLeaks wrote at Twitter earlier this week that “Pretty reliable (not 100% but almost…) source told me #iPhone 7 battery = 1960mAh (#iPhone6s = 1715mAh).”

Even OnLeaks can’t confirm this with absolute certainty, but he does say that he seems pretty sure that the new iPhone 7 battery capacity will stand at 1,960mAh. To put this into perspective,

What this means is that you shouldn’t expect anything more than an additional hour or two of battery life with the iPhone 7 battery. Of course, this may be enough for some to live with, but it seems rather small-minded of Apple to give such a small addition to its battery size when it already has the smallest battery capacities in high-end smartphones on the market. Even the LG Nexus 5X from last year, a budget-friendly device for Android users, has a 2,700mAh battery, and the iPhone 7’s rival smartphone, the Galaxy S7, has a 3,000mAh battery. The Galaxy S7 edge, Samsung’s most expensive popular flagship, has a 3,600mAh battery. The 1960mAh iPhone 7 battery doesn’t hold a candle to these. Some have said that Apple will optimize the iPhone 7 battery extremely well, but if this is true, why not add some heft to the battery size so as to make consumers happy?

Apple seems bent on keeping the battery small, though it realizes that the iPhone 7 battery has to get a bump because of the increasing demands of iPhone users. 4K video recording is more than enough of a reason to warrant a bump in the upcoming phone’s battery capacity. Apple has already implemented a Low Power Mode in iOS 9 (due to inspiration from its rival, Samsung, whose Power Saving and Ultra Power Saving Modes have been in Galaxy smartphones since the Galaxy S5 in 2014). The company is also employing something of a night mode with iOS 10 so as to cut down on brightness and help users sleep, but this mode may become something of a dark mode that’s preferable to users instead of the bright whites that drain battery — particularly with LCD panels.

Despite Apple’s attempts at better battery life, though, hardware is the only way to really fight the beast. While the iPhone 7 battery capacity isn’t that impressive, and optimizations can’t bring about a battery life that isn’t possible, Apple is also looking to implement a Smart Connector on the bottom back of the device that just may be used to attach a battery case which would solve the problem.

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