Apple Boosts iPhone 5s Battery Capacity by 10%, iPhone 5c by 5% Over iPhone 5

At its media event earlier this week, Apple noted that it had increased the battery capacity of the iPhone 5c relative to the iPhone 5, and the company's tech specs show that users can expect longer for battery life on both the iPhone 5s and 5c for certain tasks.

In particular, both new iPhones offer up to 10 hours of talk time on 3G and the same 10 hours of LTE Internet use, up from 8 hours for both tasks on the iPhone 5. Standby time on the two new models has also increased to up to 250 hours compared to 225 hours on the iPhone 5.

iphone_5_5s_5c_batteries
Apple has not, however, revealed the exact battery capacity for the new iPhones, but AnandTech dug into the FCC documents and discovered that the iPhone 5c carries 5% higher battery capacity than the iPhone 5, while the iPhone 5s carries a 10% larger battery.

While I'm somewhat skeptical sometimes of the accuracy of battery capacities as reported in FCC disclosures (which I noted about the battery size for the Nexus 5), these numbers seem credible given what I've heard, the statement Apple made during the keynote about the 5C battery size going up, and what I'd expect with some board re-layout for the 5S.

The iPhone 5s number reported in the FCC documents is close but not identical to what was seen on a leaked December 2012 prototype. The battery in that device was listed as 5.92 Whr, while the FCC documents report a capacity of 5.96 Whr.

iphone_5c_battery

iPhone 5c battery

The documents report a capacity of 5.73 Whr for the iPhone 5c battery, which matches that seen in photos of the part posted by C Technology today.

Pre-orders for the iPhone 5c begin at 12:01 AM Pacific Time tomorrow morning, with availability of both the iPhone 5s and 5c set for Friday, September 20. Apple is not offering pre-orders for the iPhone 5s.

Related Forum: iPhone

Top Rated Comments

newagemac Avatar
131 months ago
From 8 hours of LTE web browsing to 10 hours without increasing the size of the phone is pretty darn impressive.
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MacSince1990 Avatar
131 months ago
As Apple's stock drops 5%. What a coincidence.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Brandon263 Avatar
131 months ago
No. Actually Apple is accurate/slightly conservative with its battery estimates. My iPhone 5 lasts for about 9 1/2 hours under heavy usage on LTE, while my 2013 MacBook Air usually lasts 13 hours.

I do not believe that.... If Apple says: It lasts 9 hours, the truth is it lasts 5 to 6 hours

Same with Laptops
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ProjectedLight Avatar
131 months ago
No. Actually Apple is accurate/slightly conservative with its battery estimates. My iPhone 5 lasts for about 9 1/2 hours under heavy usage on LTE, while my 2013 MacBook Air usually lasts 13 hours.

I don't buy that, everyone I know with an iPhone 5, myself included, has lousy battery life. Before iOS 7 I got 5 hours of usage, after iOS 7 I get about 3-4 hours. Not only that, the battery bleeds out even when its asleep. This is true of everyone I know who has an iPhone 5.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
boshii Avatar
131 months ago
I was really hoping they would say "all day" battery life.

Guess that's coming in iPhone 6. :rolleyes:
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kenetic Avatar
131 months ago
I have to charge my iPhone 5 twice a day. 10% improve is not much, but anything helps.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 15 Pro Lineup Feature

iPhone 15 Models Feature New Setting to Strictly Prevent Charging Beyond 80%

Tuesday September 19, 2023 2:04 pm PDT by
All of the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro models feature a new battery health setting that prevents the devices from charging beyond 80% at all times when enabled, as confirmed by The Verge's Allison Johnson during a Q&A session today. The new setting is separate from the pre-existing Optimized Battery Charging feature on iPhones, which intelligently delays charging past 80% until a more...
iOS 17 and iPhones Feature

iOS 17: 10 New Features That Just Launched

Sunday September 17, 2023 12:35 pm PDT by
In June, Apple announced iOS 17 with a wide range of new features and changes for the iPhone. Following over three months of beta testing, the free software update will be released this Monday, September 18 for the iPhone XS and newer. Below, we have recapped 10 key features coming to the iPhone with iOS 17, with additional features coming later this year. The update should be released to...
iOS 17

Apple Releases iOS 17.0.1 and iPadOS 17.0.1 With Bug Fixes, Plus iOS 17.0.2 for iPhone 15 Models

Thursday September 21, 2023 10:28 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 17.0.1 and iPadOS 17.0.1 updates for the iPhone and the iPad, adding bug fixes to the new software. The iOS 17.0.1 and iPadOS 17.0.1 updates come just a few days after Apple launched iOS 17 and iPadOS 17. The software, which is build 21A340, can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. There is a...
emojipedia 15 1 emoji

Emoji Coming to Future iOS 17 Update Include Shaking Head, Brown Mushroom, Lime, Phoenix and More

Tuesday September 19, 2023 12:43 pm PDT by
As Apple was announcing new iPhone models last week, the Unicode Consortium was officially approving new emoji characters that are set to be added to smartphones starting in 2024. Mockup of new emoji from Emojipedia Approved Unicode 15.1 emoji include phoenix, lime, an edible mushroom, shaking head vertically (as in a "yes" nod), shaking head horizontally (a "no" head shake), and broken...