iPhone XS and XS Max Have 4GB of RAM, XR Has 3GB; XS Max and XR Have Larger 3,174 and 2,942 mAH Batteries

The battery capacities and RAM inside the new iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR have surfaced in regulatory filings Apple is required to submit to China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.


China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, often shortened to TENAA, is sort of like the FCC of China. Apple has filed many products with the regulatory body over the years, as required, and there is a track record of them being factually accurate, so there's no reason to doubt these latest ones.

Chinese website MyDrivers was first to share the filings, but only provided screenshots. MacRumors uncovered direct links to the filings below.

The filings reveal that the iPhone XS has a 2,658 mAh battery, around 2.2 percent less capacity than the 2,716 mAh battery in the iPhone X that it replaces, despite both being 5.8-inch devices. Nevertheless, with continued performance and power optimizations, Apple's tech specs indicate that the iPhone XS gets up to 30 minutes longer battery life than the iPhone X per charge cycle.

As the largest iPhone ever, the iPhone XS Max naturally has the largest battery capacity of any iPhone ever at 3,174 mAh, according to the filings. That's roughly 16.8 percent larger than the battery in the iPhone X, and 19.4 percent larger than the battery in the iPhone XS. Apple's tech specs indicate that the iPhone XS Max lasts up to 1.5 hours longer than the iPhone X per charge cycle.

iPhone XS Max regulatory filing in China
Last, the iPhone XR is listed with a battery capacity of 2,942 mAh, roughly 8.3 percent larger than in the iPhone X, 10.6 percent larger than in the iPhone XS, and 7.3 percent smaller than in the iPhone XS Max.

Despite having a smaller battery than the iPhone XS Max, the iPhone XR has the longest battery life of any iPhone ever, according to Apple's tech specs. A big reason may be that the iPhone XR has a smaller 6.1-inch display with a lower resolution compared to the iPhone XS Max. Less pixels, less power consumption.

The filings also appear to confirm that the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max each have 4GB of RAM, while the iPhone XR has 3GB. That's exactly in line with information shared by Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo and Taiwanese research firm TrendForce earlier this year, so the filings are very likely accurate. By comparison, the iPhone X and iPhone 8 Plus have 3GB of RAM, and the iPhone 8 has 2GB.

iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max launch this Friday, so it won't take long before iFixit teardowns and Geekbench benchmarks confirm these battery capacities and RAM for good measure. iPhone XR launches October 26.