iPhone 17 Pro Poised to Deliver 'Awe Dropping' Battery Life

The tagline for Apple's special event tomorrow is "Awe dropping," and the iPhone 17 Pro's battery life might live up to the hype.

iPhone 17 Pro on Desk Centered 1
As we recently reported, alleged battery capacities for all of the iPhone 17 models have surfaced in a Chinese regulatory database. The alleged capacity for the iPhone 17 Pro is particularly impressive, and it is worth discussing in more detail.

The smaller iPhone 17 Pro model with a 6.3-inch display will apparently be equipped with a 4,252 mAh battery for configurations without a SIM card tray. If that information is accurate, that is a nearly 20% increase (18.7% to be precise) in capacity over the iPhone 16 Pro's 3,582 mAh battery, which is a significant year-over-year improvement. This will likely translate to Apple saying the iPhone 17 Pro offers hours of additional battery life.

While the iPhone 16 Pro Max's 4,685 mAh battery would still top the iPhone 17 Pro, the A19 Pro chip should deliver more power efficiency improvements, so we will see if the iPhone 17 Pro can get close to current Pro Max battery life.

Apple removed the SIM card tray from iPhones in the U.S. starting with the iPhone 14 series, but it has simply put a piece of plastic where the tray used to be inside those devices. As a result, all iPhone 14 through iPhone 16 models sold in the U.S. have the same battery capacities as the equivalent models sold in other countries.

Starting with the iPhone 17 series, it appears that Apple will now include a larger battery in models without a SIM card tray, rather than filling the void with a plastic piece. This change helps to explain why it appears that the iPhone 17 Pro's battery capacity will increase in a meaningful way this year. The timing of this change coincides with expectations that Apple will eliminate the SIM card tray in more countries, with the iPhone 17 series likely to be eSIM-only in the EU and select other regions. iPhone 17 models sold in China will likely still have a SIM card tray or even two, due to local regulatory hurdles.

The lengthy iPhone 17 rumor cycle is finally drawing to a close. Stay tuned for in-depth coverage of Apple's event tomorrow, starting at 10 a.m. Pacific Time.

Related Roundup: iPhone 17 Pro
Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

iphone 17 models

No iPhone 18 Launch This Year, Reports Suggest

Thursday January 1, 2026 8:43 am PST by
Apple is not expected to release a standard iPhone 18 model this year, according to a growing number of reports that suggest the company is planning a significant change to its long-standing annual iPhone launch cycle. Despite the immense success of the iPhone 17 in 2025, the iPhone 18 is not expected to arrive until the spring of 2027, leaving the iPhone 17 in the lineup as the latest...
duolingo ad live activity

Duolingo Used iPhone's Dynamic Island to Display Ads, Violating Apple Design Guidelines

Friday January 2, 2026 1:36 pm PST by
Language learning app Duolingo has apparently been using the iPhone's Live Activity feature to display ads on the Lock Screen and the Dynamic Island, which violates Apple's design guidelines. According to multiple reports on Reddit, the Duolingo app has been displaying an ad for a "Super offer," which is Duolingo's paid subscription option. Apple's guidelines for Live Activity state that...
Low Cost A18 Pro MacBook Feature Pink

Apple's 2026 Low-Cost A18 Pro MacBook: What We Know So Far

Friday January 2, 2026 4:33 pm PST by
Apple is planning to release a low-cost MacBook in 2026, which will apparently compete with more affordable Chromebooks and Windows PCs. Apple's most affordable Mac right now is the $999 MacBook Air, and the upcoming low-cost MacBook is expected to be cheaper. Here's what we know about the low-cost MacBook so far. Size Rumors suggest the low-cost MacBook will have a display that's around 13 ...
govee floor lamp

CES 2026: Govee Announces New Matter-Connected Ceiling and Floor Lights

Sunday January 4, 2026 5:00 am PST by
Govee today introduced three new HomeKit-compatible lighting products, including the Govee Floor Lamp 3, the Govee Ceiling Light Ultra, and the Govee Sky Ceiling Light. The Govee Floor Lamp 3 is the successor to the Floor Lamp 2, and it offers Matter integration with the option to connect to HomeKit. The Floor Lamp 3 offers an upgraded LuminBlend+ lighting system that can reproduce 281...
airpods pro 3 glitter

AirPods New Year's Deals Include Up to $99 Off AirPods Max, AirPods Pro 3, and AirPods 4

Sunday January 4, 2026 8:04 am PST by
Now that the calendar has flipped over into January, steep discounts on popular Apple products have become more rare after the holidays. However, if you didn't get a new pair of AirPods recently and are looking for a model on sale, Amazon does have a few solid second-best prices this week. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a...
samsung crease less foldable display ces 2026%402x

Foldable iPhone's Crease-Free Display Tech Spotted at CES 2026

Tuesday January 6, 2026 3:04 am PST by
CES 2026 has just provided a first glimpse of the folding display technology that Apple is expected to use in its upcoming foldable iPhone. At the event, Samsung Display briefly showcased its new crease-less foldable OLED panel beside a Galaxy Z Fold 7, and according to SamMobile, which saw the test booth before it was abruptly removed, the new panel "has no crease at all" in comparison. The ...
Belkin 25W Battery magnetic

CES 2026: Belkin Announces Magnetic Ring Power Bank, Modular Dock, and More

Sunday January 4, 2026 3:02 pm PST by
Belkin today announced a range of new charging and connectivity accessories at CES 2026, expanding its portfolio of products aimed at Apple device users. UltraCharge Pro Power Bank 10K with Magnetic Ring The lineup includes new Qi2 and Qi2.2 wireless chargers, magnetic power banks, a high-capacity laptop battery, and USB-C productivity accessories, with an emphasis on higher charging...
AirPods Pro 3 Year of the Horse Feature

Apple Launches Year of the Horse AirPods Pro 3 for Lunar New Year

Monday January 5, 2026 11:28 am PST by
Apple has designed a limited edition version of the AirPods Pro 3 to celebrate Lunar New Year, and customers in select countries can purchase them starting today. The Year of the Horse Special Edition AirPods Pro 3 feature a unique horse emoji character that's otherwise unavailable. Customers in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Singapore are able to buy the AirPods, and they'll be...

Top Rated Comments

munpip214 Avatar
17 weeks ago
Okay Apple. Time to work on the Apple Watch battery now!
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Plerf Avatar
17 weeks ago

It kills me that we depend on people who hate us and want to destroy us to produce our products.
The people who make the things are just working schmucks like you and me, my dude.

This notion that working people in X hate working people in Y is just what the ruling classes in X and Y want us to think.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
abcmax Avatar
17 weeks ago
Let me guess: „Awe-day battery life”?
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Gunner49 Avatar
17 weeks ago
Now it's time to wait. I've lubricated up my jaws when the battery/awe-dropping news is revealed.
What a time to be alive!
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mrr Avatar
17 weeks ago
Good deal. My iPhone 16 Pro Max battery life has been dismal.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
adrianlondon Avatar
17 weeks ago
I'm not sure the word "dropping" is correct here.

Maybe try "jaw dropping" or "awe inspiring". It's not rocket surgery.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)