iPhone 13 series battery capacity reveal by Apple springs a few surprises

Apple this year revealed the battery capacities of its devices, including the iPhone 13 series, in information provided to Chemtrec, a US government agency dealing with chemicals and hazardous materials. The numbers were quickly reported online (hat tip 9to5Mac), revealing bigger battery capacities for all models compared to their respective predecessor. However, the Chemtrec listing mentions the iPhone 13 series battery capacities in Whr (Watt-hour), which is not as commonly used as mAh. However, a back-of-the-envelope calculation by the folks at GizChina gives us the approximate battery capacity in 'mAh' as well.

iPhone 13 battery capacities

These batteries are, approximately, 13 percent bigger than the ones on the iPhone 12 series models. However, it's the iPhone 13 Pro Max that's pulling the average up — its battery is 18 percent bigger than 12 Pro Max's. On the other hand, the cell powering the iPhone 13 mini is just 9 percent bigger than the one inside the 12 mini. With the iPhone 13, the difference in size is up by 15 percent vs the predecessor. Moving to the iPhone 13 Pro, you get an 11 percent increase.

Another interesting fact is that the Rs 1,19,900 iPhone 13 Pro has a smaller battery than the iPhone 13, which costs Rs 79,900; both the phones have the same screen size. This smaller battery on the 13 Pro is odd because the phone has a battery-guzzling 120Hz display, increased camera processing, and more graphics duties (not to mention 5G) to handle than the iPhone 13. Last year's iPhone 12 and 12 Pro had the exact same battery capacity.

Also read: Apple iPhone SE 256GB storage variant discontinued in India following iPhone 13 launch

While these numbers represent increases for Apple's iPhone lineup, they pale in comparison to the raw battery capacities Android phones carry, especially in the budget and affordable segments. In fact, 4,500-5,000mAh batteries are commonplace in the market nowadays, with a couple of Samsung smartphones even offering mammoth 7,000mAh cells. And while one can always argue that efficiency of iOS more than makes up for the power-guzzling Android and delivers similar battery life, there is no denying that iPhones don't really compare to several Android phones when it come to battery performance.